Duelist Legacy
by starauthor23
Summary: Chapter 13, Earth Versus Light, up! The Election Tournament continues for the DMC with an Earth Duelist facing a Light Duelist. It's anyone's game in the third round! R&R. On Permanent Hiatus.
1. Back In Session

001 - Back In Session

Blake breathed deeply as he walked down the crowded hallways yet again. School was back in session for his Junior year of high school. He looked around at all the faces, familiar and new. He smiled and waved as he passed small groups of his friends and thought about all the possibilities for the year.

Blake looked at his reflection as he walked past a trophy case. He was very tall, standing around six foot three, and he had hair that had become blonde over the summer. He wore simple clothes - a yellow t-shirt with camo-print shorts, frayed at the bottom. He had cheap Old Navy black flip-flops on his feet, and accessory-wise he had a simple silver necklace. He stopped to toy with his hair momentarily before continuing on his way.

"Blake, stop walking so fast!" Blake smiled as he heard the voice of his best friend.

"Hey, Spencer!" Blake beamed, slowing his pace so that his friend could catch up. Spencer wasn't short, but considerably shorter compared to Blake. He had short brown hair spiked up in the front and brown eyes. He was wearing a white t-shirt with red sleeves and brown cargo shorts, with tennis shoes to top it all off.

"Where are you off to so fast?" Spencer asked.

"I was headed to lunch," Blake replied. "I knew that you were in there with me and I was anxious to see you."

"I'm flattered," Spencer said, a bit mockingly. "We have the whole last half of the day together, you know."

"Yeah, but it's been an entire summer," Blake explained. "I missed you."

Spencer chuckled. "Let's just get there. I'm hungry."

They continued making their way through the press of people in the hallway, heading towards the cafeteria and discussing their summer vacations.

The cafeteria was in the central part of the school, and had windows serving for walls. Because it was made mostly of glass, it had been deemed "the fishbowl." As the two of them entered the fishbowl, Blake felt another happy smile on his face.

"Robert!"

A short, black haired boy turned to look at him with brown eyes. He was wearing a green t-shirt and silver athletic shorts. "Hey."

"I had almost forgotten that you were starting high school this year!" Blake beamed.

"Yeah," Robert said. He always talked in a quiet mumble.

"Are you having a good first day of high school?" Blake asked cheerily.

"I'm gonna go get in line for some food," Spencer interjected.

"Okay."

"So, how's your day?" Blake reiterated.

Robert shrugged.

"C'mon, tell me about it!" Blake urged, taking a seat at a nearby table. Robert followed, sitting down alongside him.

Robert shrugged again, making an "I don't know" sound he often made.

"Ah, you're no help," Blake sighed, placing his lunch on the table and opening it. He began removing the contents, preparing to put his meal together. He had brought a put-it-together lunch for healthier eating.

"You gonna eat?" Blake said after a minute, though it was garbled by the food in his own mouth.

Robert shrugged again.

Blake rolled his eyes. "You're difficult."

Spencer returned to the table at that moment, setting down his tray. He motioned to Blake's lunch. "I meant to bring my own, but I forgot."

"Tsk, tsk," Blake mimicked reproach.

"Aw, shut up," Spencer said, nudging Blake gently on the shoulder. He took his seat. "Anyway, I'm glad I got in there when I did; that place is a madhouse! If I'd gotten there any later, I would've have been stuck there the whole lunch period."

"Yeah, it's impossible to buy anything here," Blake agreed. "That's why I bring my lunch."

"Hey," Spencer said, suddenly serious, "you see that guy?"

Blake looked to where Spencer was pointing. He saw a shorter boy about Robert's height. He had short brown hair and was wearing a navy American Eagle t-shirt and khaki shorts, with Aéropostale flip-flops.

"Yeah, I see him," Blake replied. "So?"

"He's a new guy," Spencer said.

"We get new kids all the time," Blake muttered nonchalantly. "What's special about him?"

"He's supposed to be really into Duel Monsters," Spencer finished.

"Really?" Blake said, sitting up with a new interest.

"Really," Spencer smiled. "I'm not sure how good he is or how he duels, but supposedly he's got a passion for dueling."

"Well, you know, there's only one way to find out, really," Blake winked, and he stood and made his way toward the new kid, who had sat at an empty table by himself and had begun eating without raising his eyes from his food.

The boy's eyes didn't leave his food, even when Blake sat down across from him. "Hi," Blake said.

No reply.

"Hello?" Blake asked. "My name's Blake."

Still no answer.

Blake leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. "I came over here because I heard you like Duel Monsters."

The boy's eyes left his food and flashed across Blake before returning to the food.

Blake sat there for a moment, stunned. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

The boy looked up at him. "Why are you here?"

Blake was taken aback. "I told you! I heard you like Duel Monsters!"

"And?"

"And . . . so do I! I figured you might be looking for some people to play with."

The boy's green eyes met Blake's blue eyes, intensity and electricity flaring through them. "I only play with the _best_."

Blake was again caught off guard, especially with the viscious way the boy had replied.

He went back to eating.  
"What's your name?"

"Andrew. Not that it matters."

Blake shook his head. This attitude from Mr. Andrew was already wearing his usually ample patience thin. "Look, do you want to duel?"

"I don't have time to waste. I know that there's a local tournament here in about a month, and I need to be focusing on my deck strategy."

Blake was tired of Andrew, but the call to duel was too much. "Maybe you can test your deck strategy against me?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not? You've never dueled me, seen me duel, or heard about how I duel. It's perfect; a complete unknown!"

"Let's not."

"It'll be a real challenge! I'd bet you don't get that much!"

Andrew sighed. "Why are you so dead set on this?"

"Because I want the challenge of facing someone I've never seen before!" Blake said excitedly.

Andrew smirked mirthlessly. "All right, here is the fact you need to understand: I am the best. Someday soon, people will realize that I am the best. When I win this tournament, I'll get an automatic bid in the Regional Tournament, then it's onto Nationals and, finally, the World Challenge. I'm on the way to the top, and I can't waste my time on cretins like you."

Blake stood up, suppressing his anger. "We've talked enough about this! I challenge you to a duel!"

Andrew looked back at his food, teasing a lump of mashed potatoes with his plastic spoon. He sighed exasperatedly. "I'll duel you on one condition."

"What's that?" Blake asked, content that he'd finally broken through Andrew's defenses.

"The condition is that, once I've beaten you, you'll leave me alone."

Blake sighed. "Fine. If that's what it'll take to get you to duel me, then fine."

"Now," Andrew continued, "will you leave me to eat my lunch in peace?"

"Fine," Blake conceded, standing. "I'll just go back to my friends, but if you wanted, you could come."

"Not interested."

_I'm just trying to be nice!_ Blake thought to himself. _Why does he have to be so mean about all this?_ "It was just a suggestion. I thought you might like to meet some people. You know, make a new friend or two."

Andrew laughed humorlessly. "Oh, please."

"Fine," Blake said, waving his hand dismissively. But, might as well try one last thing. "You know, I'm Vice-President of the Duel Monsters Club here at school."  
"Really," Andrew said, not interested.

"Yeah, and my friend over there, Spencer, he's the president."

"I'm really interested," Andrew said dryly, not taking his eyes off his food.

"Well, we're holding re-elections soon, but for now that's the pecking order," Blake continued, oblivious. "We hold elections each year for President and Vice-President, and it's a tournament among all members. It's gonna be in a few weeks, and the winner is President and Vice-President is the runner-up. So that means that Spencer currently and for a few weeks longer is considered the best duelist in school. I thought you might be interested to know that."

"Really . . ." Andrew said, looking up with renewed interest.

"Really," Blake said. "Well, guess I'll see ya."

As Blake walked away, Andrew arose and followed him. Blake returned to Spencer and Robert and began eating before he noticed Andrew standing there.

"Did you need something?" Blake asked, his mouth again full of food.

Andrew pointed to Spencer. "Is spike-head here this Spencer kid you mentioned?"

"Excuse me?" Spencer said. "I'm Spencer. What did you need?"

Andrew stepped forward menacingly. "I challenge you to a duel!"

Spencer jumped a bit. "Are you serious?"

"Doofus here tells me that you're the best," Andrew said, referring to Blake.

Blake thought for a moment. "Wait . . . am I doofus?"

"If you're the best here, then that means that in order to prove my skill I must beat you," Andrew continued.

"I thought you said you were the best around," Blake countered. "If you think that, why do you have to beat Spencer?"

"What I _know _doesn't alter what people think," Andrew answered. "In order to make people realize that I'm the best, I have to beat the duelist who is considered to be the best."

"That makes sense," Spencer admitted.

"But wait a minute!" Blake interrupted. "I already challenged you to a duel!"

"Oh, please," Andrew scoffed. "See, that's another reason why I need to show myself to be the best: So that every kid and his mom who hears I like Duel Monsters doesn't come calling for me to play them."

"Well . . . too bad!" Blake said. "You already agreed to duel me, so there!"

Andrew sighed dejectedly. "_Fine!_ When do you want to duel me?"

"Today, after school," Blake declared. "Out on the front lawn."

"All right, I'll be there," Andrew said. He pointed to Spencer. "I want to see you there, too. Once I've beaten your crony here, I'm challenging you."

"We'll see who beats who," Blake smiled.

"Whatever," Andrew muttered, and he walked back to his table.

"He's a little . . ." Spencer searched for the correct word.

"Full of himself," Blake finished for him.

"What were you all talking about?" Robert asked.

"What do you mean?" Blake replied.

"What's all this talk about dueling and stuff?"

Spencer and Blake both gaped. "You don't know about dueling?"

"Come here," Blake said, pulling Robert into a hug. "It's okay. We're here to help you."

"Did I . . . do something wrong?" Robert asked.

"Well, I guess not," Blake answered. "But you're definitely missing out!"

"We've gotta make sure that he learns how to duel!" Spencer agreed.

"Yeah," Blake declared. "You know what Robert? I'm gonna make you my protogé!"

"You're . . . what?"  
"I'm gonna teach you and train you," Blake explained. "I'm gonna become your teacher, and you will be my student. I'll make you into a tournament-level duelist!"

"Okay . . ."

"Don't worry," Blake smiled. "Dueling's fun, and getting started isn't too hard. It's a tough game, but you can start playing right away."

"Yeah, no sweat," Spencer agreed.

"Come to my duel today after school," Blake told Robert. "You can see a real game in action, and then I'll take you by the local card shop and we can start building you a deck."

Robert nodded.

"All right!" Blake beamed. "I have a duel already! I can't wait!"

-

Blake felt his anticipation rising as Andrew approached.

"I've been waiting all day for this!" Blake called as Andrew assumed his place across from Blake.

"Are you serious?" Andrew retorted. "This is gonna be quick work."

"Come on, give me more credit than that," Blake said.

"If you want my respect, you have to earn it," Andrew scoffed. "And _trust me_, it ain't gonna happen."

"We'll just see about that!" Blake replied. "Let's duel!"

"Fine by me," Andrew said, activating his duel disc.

Blake activated his own duel disc. "Since I challenged you, you can choose who goes first."

"Very well," Andrew agreed. "I choose to play first."

"Cool."

ANDREW: 4000LP

BLAKE: 4000LP

Andrew drew another card, an evil smirk on his face. "You know why I'm such a good duelist?"

"No," Blake admitted.

"Because I know how to hit my opponent hard and fast," Andrew answered, holding out two cards from his hand. "I have cards like these: I play two Hinotama cards!"

"What do they do?" Blake asked worriedly.

"You're about to find out!" Andrew laughed.

There was a loud roaring noise and several fireballs materialized above Andrew's head. "Uh-oh," Blake muttered.

"Go, Hinotama!" Andrew commanded, and the fireballs rushed forward. They launched across the field and slammed into Blake, engulfing him in flame.

BLAKE: 3000LP

"No way!" Blake grunted through cringed teeth, his clothes smoking from the flames. "I'm down 1000 Life Points already?"

"That's the power of my deck," Andrew smirked. "And to finish my turn, I'll play my Larvas in attack mode!"

A green monster hovering in the air appeared, wielding long, sharp claws at the end of its two purple arms. 800/1000

Blake drew. "He's already removed 1000 of my Life Points and gotten a monster on the field! If I don't do something fast, I'm gonna lose this one!" He looked at his card. "Alright, Andrew, here goes nothing!"


	2. Duel!

002 - Duel!

_"No way!" Blake grunted through gritted teeth, his clothes smoking from the flames. "I'm down 1000 Life Points already?"_

_"That's the power of my deck," Andrew smirked. "And to finish my turn, I'll play my Larvas in attack mode!"_

_A green monster hovering in the air appeared, wielding long, sharp claws at the end of its two purple arms. 800/1000_

_Blake drew. "He's already removed 1000 of my Life Points and gotten a monster on the field! If I don't do something fast, I'm gonna lose this one!" He looked at his card. "Alright, Andrew, here goes nothing!"_

"I play Flame Manipulator!" Blake called.

A blue-haired man appeared before Blake. 900/1000

"Go, Flame Manipulator!" Blake commanded. "Destroy his Larvas!"

Flame Manipulator nodded and slashed his arm through the air. A wall of fire sprung into existence, launching across the field and washing over Larvas. Larvas screamed and burst into bits of forgotten data.

ANDREW: 3900LP

"How dare you!" Andrew growled.

"Hey, I'm not just gonna sit back and let you hit my Life Points like that," Blake casually replied.

"Whatever," Andrew grumbled. "It's my turn now." Andrew drew his next card. "You're not gonna like this: Terra the Terrible!"

A huge, monstrous green ogre appeared on the field with a gurgled chuckle. 1200/1300

"Terra, smash his Flame Manipulator and show him why you're known as Terra _the Terrible_!"

With a wretched roar, the blob of a monster lurched forward and grabbed Flame Manipulator, lifting him high into the air.

"Hey, put him down!" Blake yelled.

"What's he doing?" Spencer asked.

"That thing is disgusting," Robert added.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" Andrew cackled. Terra pulled Flame Manipulator in toward him and, in one gulp, swallowed him whole.

"My Flame Manipulator!" Blake cried.

Andrew laughed. "Not so tough now, is he? Tasty, though."

"That's horrible!" Blake exclaimed.

"How could he do that to a monster?" Spencer growled.

"Terra's methods are a bit uncouth, I'll admit," Andrew said. "However, he gets the job done."

BLAKE: 2700LP

"Doesn't matter," Blake grumbled. "I'll find a way to repay your disgusting monster in no time."

"We'll see about that," Andrew smirked.

"I draw!" Blake announced, "and play one monster face-down in defense position! End turn."

"Wow, that was so exciting," Andrew murmured dryly. "You're a real hero."

"Just go," Blake spat.

"Fine," Andrew said, drawing his next card. "But you're not gonna like it. See, I play a favorite of mine, the vicious Silver Fang!"

A snarling wolf with a gorgeous silver coat appeared, roaring menacingly. 1200/800

"Now, my Terra will make quick work of your face-down card," Andrew explained. "Attack!"

Terra lurched forward, bearing down on Blake's face-down card. A humanoid insect appeared, roaring at Terra.

"You've flipped my Man-Eater Bug and triggered his effect!" Blake smiled.

"A Man-Eater Bug?" Andrew growled.

"Oh, yeah!" Spencer smiled. "Good play, Blake!"

"Thanks," Blake said, flashing a confident smile. "Now, Andrew, while I'm sure you're familiar with Man-Eater's effect, I'll refresh your memory. When he's flipped - as he was just now when you declared your attack - he can take any monster on the field and destroy it."

"I know, thanks," Andrew grumbled angrily.

"So, Man-Eater Bug, destroy his Terra the Terrible!"

"Whatever," Andrew shrugged. "He served his purpose."

Man-Eater Bug reached up, wrapped its arms and legs around Terra, and the two of them exploded.

"You forgot, though, that without your Bug to protect you, you're open to attack!" Andrew announced triumphantly. "Silver Fang, destroy him!"

The ferocious wolf monster leapt forward, sinking its long teeth into Blake's arm.

"Aaaah!" Blake screamed as his Life Points were ripped from him.

BLAKE: 1800LP

"No way!" Spencer cried as Blake fell to his knees. "What a hit! His Life Points are really low; he's in trouble!"

"How is this possible?" Robert asked Spencer. "He's been hit by fireballs and now bitten by a giant wolf. How is he able to stand?"

"Oh," Spencer said. "That's because they're actually holograms."

"They're _holograms_?"

"Yeah, and when, for example, Silver Fang attacks Blake, it only looks like he bites his arm. It really doesn't happen. However, it does simulate a bit of pain. Nothing you can't handle, but it's proportionate to the amount of Life Points you lose."

"So, if he loses 500 Life Points, then it'll sting a bit, but if he loses 1000 or something, then that hurts worse?"

"Exactly. It's a very complex dueling system, but it's part of the reason why the game is so popular. It almost makes it real."

"That's cool, I guess," Robert said.

"I'm not gonna just stand here and let myself get knocked around," Blake grunted, forcing himself to his feet. "I draw and play one monster in face-down defense."

"Again?" Andrew sighed. "Because I'm losing interest pretty fast here."

"It's your turn, maybe that'll keep you interested," Blake said.

Andrew drew. "Maybe it will. I play Lesser Dragon!"

With a roar, a looming, bipedal black dragon with green armor on its back appeared. 1200/1000

"Now, Lesser Dragon, attack his monster!" Andrew called.

The dragon roared and lurched its head forward, chomping down on Blake's face-down monster.

"You've attacked my Mystical Elf," Blake smiled. "While she doesn't have an effect like my Man-Eater Bug did, she does have a hefty 2000 defense score."

"2000?" Andrew cried.

ANDREW: 3100LP

"Serves you right," Blake smirked. He drew. "Now check this, because I'm saying good-bye to my Mystical Elf. She's going as a tribute for my Reaper of the Cards!"

The blonde haired, blue skinned elf-woman disappeared, and in her place a phantom floating in a dark robe and holding a long scythe appeared. 1380/1930

"Now, Reaper of the Cards, destroy that Lesser Dragon!"

Reaper of the Cards rushed forward and, in one decisive swipe, slashed Lesser Dragon into a memory.

ANDREW: 2920LP

"I'm this close to being done with this duel," Andrew growled. "I'm sick of playing kid games with you. It's time to finish this."

Glancing momentarily at his next card, a newly malicious smile hit Andrew's face. "You remember how this duel began?"

"What, with your Magic cards?" Blake asked, feeling a sense of foreboding rising in his stomach.

"Oh, yes," Andrew said. "And let me tell you this: They weren't the only ones. I play Final Flame!"

Blake grimaced as he felt the heat form around him. Flames appeared suddenly, rising up around him and engulfing his body. He cried out as the fire scorched across his skin.

BLAKE: 1200LP

"But that's not all!" Andrew declared. "For now, I call my Witty Phantom to the field."

An orange-skinned man with long yellow hair and a fine purple suit appeared on the field. 1400/1300

"Phantom, make quick work of his Reaper of the cards!"

"No!" Blake cried. He held up his hands in a futile defensive gesture.

Witty Phantom casually removed his hat and, with a simple flick of his wrist, sent it launching forward at Reaper of the Cards. It slashed through the phantom monster, destroying it completely.

BLAKE: 1180LP

"No!" Spencer cried. "No way!"

"I can't believe this!" Blake grunted.

"Silver Fang," Andrew said finally, "destroy him."

With a feral howl, the wolf lunged into Blake with a final destructive bite.

BLAKE: 0LP

Blake let out a yelp of pain, falling again to the dirt.

"Blake!" Spencer cried out, and he and Robert rushed to their friend's side.

"Are you okay?" Robert asked.

Blake, his head down, made no reply.

"You see?" Andrew said calmly, strutting toward the three and shuffling his deck casually. "A duelist of your calibur has no place dueling me. I'm just too much for you."

Blake still made no reply, though Spencer shot Andrew a dirty look.

"I would give you some tips," Andrew continued, "but I simply don't see any future for you in dueling."

"That's enough," Spencer snarled. "You already beat him, can't you leave it at that?"

"I would leave it at that, had he posed any challenge at all," Andrew said simply.

"It's not like he didn't hit your Life Points!" Spencer yelled back. "He made a respectable dent, but you act like you won without taking any damage."

"I'm simply saying that that's the easiest duel I've had in recent memory," Andrew scoffed. "Anyway, I only dueled him because he wouldn't let up. The real duel I want is with you."

Spencer could hardly contain his anger. "You insult my friend and then ask me for a duel?"

"If you'd like me to apologize, I will," Andrew murmured. "I just want to duel you. Then, everyone will see that I'm the best."

"When you attacked my friend in a duel, it was okay," Spencer said, "but when you attacked his integrity outside the duel, that was definitely _not _okay!"

Andrew sighed. "I will admit it: I was a bit harsh. Sometimes I just get carried away."

Spencer stared for a few moments, determining the sincerity of Andrew's statement. "If you really want to duel me, we'll talk. Not now, though."

"Of course," Andrew said quietly, with a slight bow. "I'll be on my way."

"Hey, wait!" Blake said weakly, standing on unsteady feet with his arm wrapped around Robert's shoulder for support.

Andrew stopped walking away and turned to look at him, still a bit humbled by Spencer's outburst. "Yes?"

Blake looked up with a smile on his face. "Good duel!"

Andrew was taken aback, and simply stared back at Blake's smiling face. After several moments in disbelief, Andrew pulled himself together and, with a smirk that was considerably more friendly than his smirks had been, turned and walked away.

The boys watched him walk away, and when he was far enough away, Spencer turned to Blake. "Why did you say that?"

"What?"

"Why did you compliment him?"

Blake smiled. "Because he played a good game."

"And then he acted like a complete jerk," Spencer said. "He didn't deserve your compliment."

"Yeah he did," Blake countered. "I complimented his dueling. He played a good game. He deserved it. The rest of what he did didn't matter."

Spencer shook his head. "Sometimes you don't make sense."

Blake laughed a little. "Whatever." He turned to Robert. "So, how would you like to learn to duel?"

Robert was a bit surprised. "Now?"

"Of course!" Blake said.

"Uh . . ."

"Good!" Blake beamed. "I'm good friends with the owner of the card shop down the road."

"Will?" Spencer interjected.

"Yeah," Blake nodded. "So I'll take you and teach you about dueling, and he should be able to help us out. You ready?"

"I . . . guess," Robert said uncertainly.

"Of course you are," Spencer laughed, patting Robert on the back. "I've gotta get home and do some chores, but you two have a good time."

"We will," Blake replied. He placed his arm around Robert's shoulder. "No problem, Bert. Stick with me and you'll be throwing it down in no time!"


	3. The Basics

003 - The Basics

_Spencer and Blake both gaped. "You don't know about dueling?"_

_"Come here," Blake said, pulling Robert into a hug. "It's okay. We're here to help you."_

_"Did I . . . do something wrong?" Robert asked._

_"Well, I guess not," Blake answered. "But you're definitely missing out!"_

_"We've gotta make sure that he learns how to duel!" Spencer agreed._

_"Yeah," Blake declared. "You know what Robert? I'm gonna make you my protogé!"_

_"You're . . . what?"  
"I'm gonna teach you and train you," Blake explained. "I'm gonna become your teacher, and you will be my student. I'll make you into a tournament-level duelist!"  
_-

_Blake laughed a little. "So, how would you like to learn to duel?"_

_Robert was a bit surprised. "Now?"_

_"Of course!" Blake said._

_"Uh . . ."_

_"Good!" Blake beamed. "I'm good friends with the owner of the card shop down the road."_

_"Will?" Spencer interjected._

_"Yeah," Blake nodded. "So I'll take you and teach you about dueling, and he should be able to help us out. You ready?"_

_"I . . . guess," Robert said uncertainly._

_"Of course you are," Spencer laughed, patting Robert on the back. "I've gotta get home and do some chores, but you two have a good time."_

_"We will," Blake replied. He placed his arm around Robert's shoulder. "No problem, Bert. Stick with me and you'll be throwing it down in no time!"_

-

"There it is!" Blake declared triumphantly. "Card Galaxy!"

"Card Galaxy," Robert repeated. "I've heard of this place."

"Yeah, it's the best place for Duel Monsters cards," Blake explained. "And there's always a duelist hanging around, looking for a good pick-up game."

The boys walked into the shop, and the instant Blake walked through the door, they were hit with a friendly greeting.

"Blake! Hey, howya doin'?"

"Will, long time, no see!"

Will was a tall, skinny, awkward young man with buzzed hair and a goofy smile constantly adorning his face. He was the owner of Card Galaxy and Blake and Spencer's go-to guy for everything Duel Monsters. He was also keen on helping newcomers to the game become immersed in all its intricacies.

"Long time? Yeah, it's been nearly twenty-four hours now," Will laughed.

"Too long," Blake sighed.

"You know," Will said, "I think you may have a small addiction."

"Eh," Blake shrugged. "There are worse things."

Will laughed again, then noticed Robert standing by Blake. "And who is this?"

After pausing to see if Robert himself would speak up, Blake answered, "This is my buddy Robert. He didn't know about Duel Monsters."

"He what?"

"I know!" Blake exclaimed. "But I told him that I would fix that and teach him everything I know." Blake patted Robert lovingly on the shoulder.

"So," Will muttered, leaning on his elbow and peering at Robert over the glass counters, inside of which were showcased all of the newest, rarest, and most powerful Duel Monsters cards, "you want to learn to play Duel Monsters, huh?"

Robert shrugged.

"He doesn't really know anything about it, so he doesn't really want to learn or not want to learn, he just _needs_ to learn."

"Agreed," Will nodded. "Well, you've come to the right place! Card Galaxy is the perfect place to supply everything you need for your Duel Monsters strategy."

"It's true," Blake agreed, nodding solemnly at Robert.

"Okay," Robert said simply.

"Come on," Blake sighed, grabbing Robert's arm and pulling him further into the store. "Let's go sit over here at this table. I'll show you my cards and teach you a little bit about each kind."

Robert followed obediently and sat down beside Blake at the nearby table. Two duelists sat at the other end, playing a low-tech game of Duel Monsters.

"Okay, let me look through here," Blake muttered, shuffling through his deck. "Let's start with Monster cards." Blake placed four monsters on the table.

Robert bent over the cards, examining each one.

"Monsters have several features about them," Blake said, holding up one of the Monsters. "This is my Aqua Madoor. We'll use him as an example."

The card had the title Aqua Madoor at the top left of the card, with a blue circle that said "Water" in the top right. Beneath this circle were four smaller red circles, each of which housed a yellow star. Beneath this was the monster's picture, depicting a strange humanoid with a mask and a shock of blue hair. Beneath this was an information box that said "Spellcaster" in brackets and had an information blurb beneath this. At the very bottom were two indicators, an attack score on the left and a defense score on the right.

"Now, we'll start at the top," Blake said. "In the upper left is the monster's name, and then at the right is the monster's Element, also and more commonly kown as its Attribute. Aqua Madoor is, as its name would suggest, a Water Attribute. There are five other attributes beside water: Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, and Dark."

"Okay," Robert nodded.

"Next," Blake continued, "are these four, nice little stars here. This is a monster's level. Aqua Madoor is level four. The levels range from one, being very weak, to ten, being unnaturally strong, though most monsters peak at level eight. The level is important for summoning, because any monster above level four has to be Tribute Summoned. Level five and level six monsters can only be Summoned by first sacrificing one of the monsters you already have on the field, and level seven and eight monsters require two monsters. Anything above that requires three monsters."

"That's a lot," Robert said simply.

"Yeah, but they don't raise the cost on those guys without a reason," Blake replied. "So, next you have the picture, of course, and then, here, it says 'Spellcaster.' That's this monster's type, and there are plenty of them, like Spellcasters, Beasts, Warriors, and Dragons. There are some Magic or Trap cards, or even Monster effects, that help or hurt specific monster types, and that means they're good for use in decks by combining strategically with your monsters to create unique, powerful combos."

Robert nodded so show he understood.  
"Finally," Blake said, indicating the two scores at the bottom of the card, "we have attack and defense scores for each monster. This monster's attack isn't horrid - 1200. However, it's really used for its defense, which is a whopping 2000."

"So that thing can defend against pretty much anything?" Robert asked, noting without enthusiasm how weak the creature looked.

Blake shrugged. "Eh . . . it can defend against a lot, but there are plenty of monsters that can break its defense, and we're not even talking about Magic and Trap cards. However, it does have plenty of defense to really be worth a lot, so that's why I run it."

"Run it?"

"Run it in my deck. The cards that I run are the cards that I use, it's just the terminology."

"Oh."

"Alright," Blake continued, "moving right along." He pulled out a green card with a leaf depicted in the picture. Above the picture was its title, below was some writing, and in a circle at the top right was the word "Magic."

"This, as you've already noticed, is a Magic card. They are cards you play from your hand to increase your monster's power or do any number of other things. This one increases your Life Points. It's called Goblin's Secret Remedy, as it says here. Here, under the picture, is the effect. Each Magic card is basically the same set up, though there are a few sub-types."

Robert nodded again, trying quickly to process all of this new information.

"Finally, we have the last type of card," Blake said. "These are traps."

He placed a purple card in front of Robert. Its title was in the upper left, like the others: Trap Hole. The upper right had a circle, just like the other cards, that said "Trap." Beneath this was the picture, which depicted a humanoid creature looking up to the round top of a hole in the earth, and underneath that was the caption with its effect.

Blake smiled. "These are the three types of cards in Duel Monsters."

"That's pretty simple," Robert muttered.

"Yeah," Blake agreed. "The card types are basic, but the different effects they have and the way they work together create innumerable combinations and possibilities."

"That's . . . pretty complex," Robert murmured.

"You'll get the hang of it in no time," Blake said. "Why don't we get you started and buy a booster pack?"

"Booster pack?"

Blake laughed in disbelief. "I can't believe you don't know what that is!" He walked to the counter where Will was standing. "Will, hand me a booster pack, please."

"Sure thing," Will replied, tossing Blake a foil package with "Duel Monsters" written on the front in stylized letters. A large white dragon decorated the pack.

"I'm buying this for my friend here," Blake explained, "so put it on my tab."

"Of course," Will grinned.

"Here you go," Blake smiled, tossing the pack to Robert.

"Uh . . . thanks," Robert replied. "What should I do?"

"Why, open it of course!" Blake laughed. "Booster packs contain five random cards, and when they come out with new cards they add them to the booster packs. The only way to begin your collection is to buy boosters, but once you've gotten a firm footing you can begin to trade so you get the cards you need. So open it up and see what you got!"

Robert struggled to get a hold on the pack for a moment before successfully opening the booster. He slid the cards out and looked them over.

"What did you get?" Blake asked eagerly.

Robert read the names. "Basic Insect, Monster Egg, M-Warrior #2, Misairuzame, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

Blake shook his head. "Well . . . that's pretty coo - wait, what was that last one?"

Robert looked at it again. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon."

"Holy crap!" Blake cried, jumping to stand behind Robert and look to see if it was really true. "How'd you do that?"

"What's up?" Will asked nearby.

"He got a Red-Eyes!"

"_What?_"

"I know, I don't believe it either!"

Robert shrugged. "What's wrong with you guys?"

Blake pointed to the card. "Robert, you just drew one of the rarest, most expensive cards in the game!"

"For real?"

"_For real!_" Blake and Will breathed in unison, both wide-eyed and staring at this rare wonder.

"That's cool, I guess," Robert muttered.

"Cool _you guess?_" Blake cried indignantly. He thought for a moment. "I guess you don't understand it because you're just now getting into the game."

"I guess."

"I've been building a Dragon-themed deck for the longest time," Will interjected. "I've been looking for a rare, powerful card like this for a long time now."

"What about your Beast Deck?" Blake asked.

"Yeah," Will shrugged. "I like Dragons a lot, but I just can't bring myself to let go of my Beasts. They've helped me out so many times before. It wouldn't be fair to my Beasts to change to Dragons after all this time."

"So what are you gonna do with it?" Blake asked.

Will smiled. "I'm going to loan it."

Blake shot him a confused look, as Robert continued to watch quietly, still not necessarily understanding all the things being discussed.

Will reached behind the counter and pulled out a hearty stack of cards. He held it toward Robert. "Here," he directed. "Add Red-Eyes Black Dragon to this deck and see how it works for you."

Robert stared without answering. "You're . . . giving me an entire deck?"

Will nodded. "I'm not going to use it. But there are a lot of good cards in here, so I'm not giving them to you to keep forever, necessarily."

Robert continued to stare, comprehension just alluding him.

Will laughed. "Let's just call it an as-of-now indefinite loan."

Blake clapped Robert on the back. "Awesome! Your first day and you've already got a world-class deck! Once you've played with it a few times and learned how to really use it, I'm sure you'll be an amazing duelist!"

"Cool," Robert said, a small smile on his face.

"Hey, I have a suggestion," Blake grinned. "Let's really jump-start your training: Let's duel!"


	4. Student Versus Teacher

004 - Student Versus Teacher

_"I've been building a Dragon-themed deck for the longest time," Will interjected. "I've been looking for a rare, powerful card like this for a long time now."_

_"What about your Beast Deck?" Blake asked._

_"Yeah," Will shrugged. "I like Dragons a lot, but I just can't bring myself to let go of my Beasts. They've helped me out so many times before. It wouldn't be fair to my Beasts to change to Dragons after all this time."_

_"So what are you gonna do with it?" Blake asked._

_Will smiled. "I'm going to loan it."_

_Blake shot him a confused look, as Robert continued to watch quietly, still not necessarily understanding all the things being discussed._

_Will reached behind the counter and pulled out a hearty stack of cards. He held it toward Robert. "Here," he directed. "Add Red-Eyes Black Dragon to this deck and see how it works for you."_

_Robert stared without answering. "You're . . . giving me an entire deck?"_

_Will nodded. "I'm not going to use it. But there are a lot of good cards in here, so I'm not giving them to you to keep forever, necessarily."_

_Robert continued to stare, comprehension just alluding him._

_Will laughed. "Let's just call it an as-of-now indefinite loan."_

_Blake clapped Robert on the back. "Awesome! Your first day and you've already got a world-class deck! Once you've played with it a few times and learned how to really use it, I'm sure you'll be an amazing duelist!"_

_"Cool," Robert said, a small smile on his face._

_"Hey, I have a suggestion," Blake grinned. "Let's really jump-start your training: Let's duel!"_

Blake stood across from Robert, and his duel disk clicked into place. Robert, with Will's duel disk strapped around his arm, placed his newly acquired deck into the deck slot and prepared to duel.

"Alright," Blake said. "Just remember what I've taught you and you'll be fine."  
"Right," Robert nodded.

BLAKE: 4000LP

ROBERT: 4000LP

They both drew hands of five cards. "You can choose who goes first," Blake said, "since it's your first duel."

Robert looked the five cards over intensely for several long moments. "I think I'll go first."

"Cool," Blake responded.

"Alright, I draw," Robert mumbled. "Then I guess I'll play this: Drooling Lizard in attack mode."

A serpentine humanoid with green-scaled skin appeared with a hiss on the field. 900/800

"Now I end my turn," Robert declared.

"Alright," Blake said. "I'll draw." He added another card to his hand and looked it over for a moment.

"I activate my Spell card, Dian Keto the Cure Master. It gives my Life Points a considerable boost of 1000 points!"

BLAKE: 5000LP

"Now I'll play a monster in face-down defense mode," Blake said. A defense position card appeared before Blake. "You can go."

Robert drew. "Oh, hey, check this out. I didn't notice this last turn, but look at this combo. I play Polymerization."

"Polymerization?" Blake asked incredulously. "On your second turn?"

"Yeah," Robert said. "Okay, so I send Curse of Dragon and Gaia the Fierce Knight into the Graveyard and Fusion summon Gaia the Dragon Champion."

A strong knight atop a valiant steed appeared on the field, and then a winged dragon with green armor. A vortex of energy appeared between the two, sucking them in, and then a burst of light erupted. When the light went away, the purple armored knight was sitting atop the horn-nosed dragon, holding his javelin aloft and ready for battle. 2600/2100

"No way!" Blake cried. "How did you get a monster that strong?"  
"Well, this deck _is _built by the owner of the card shop," Robert shrugged.

"Still, to get a monster that strong on the field in your second turn? That's pretty phenominal."

Robert shrugged again. "Whatever. I'm gonna have him attack your face-down monster."

_Darn it! _Blake growled. _My Mystical Elf's defense is strong enough for most monsters, but not Gaia the Dragon Champion!_

The dragon flew forward and the knight atop its back slashed Blake's card to shreds before his eyes.

"Now I can attack your Life Points directly, right?" Robert asked.

"Yeah," Blake admitted contemptuously.

"Cool," Robert said. "Drooling Lizard will attack your Life Points."

BLAKE: 4100LP

"Are you done?" Blake asked grumpily.

"Yeah," Robert said, very proud of his turn's accomplishments.

"Alright, I'll go now," Blake declared. _Ah, I've got nothing. Especially nothing that can beat that Dragon Champion._ "I play one monster face-down again, then play another card face-down."

His horizontal card appeared, with another vertical card behind it. "Your turn."

Robert drew his next card. "I'll play Uraby in attack mode."

A huge dinosaur with brown scales appeared on the field. 1500/800

_Crap, _Blake grumbled, _he's getting too many monsters. He's got a really good deck._

"Now, my Dragon Champion will destroy your face-down monster," Robert declared, "and then my Drooling Lizard and Uraby will attack your Life Points."

Blake watched as the three monsters rushed his field. His face-down monster was slashed in two like before, and then the Drooling Lizard and Uraby bit down on either of his shoulders.

BLAKE: 1700LP

"Alright, this has to end now with this next card," Blake said, adding his next card to his hand. "Now I'll play my Sorcerer of the Doomed!"

A horrid old man appeared, adorned with skulls and holding aloft a scepter with a red jewel on the end. 1450/1200

"Sorcerer, attack his Drooling Lizard!"

The Sorcerer put his hand to the jewel of his scepter and a streak of red lightning shot forward, obliterating Drooling Lizard.

ROBERT: 3450LP

"Now, that's it for me," Blake announced.

Robert drew again. "I have a spell card: Fissure."

"What?" Blake cried in disbelief. _That can't be! _He looked through his cards quickly. _There's nothing I can do!_

A gaping hole in the earth appeared and Blake's Sorcerer fell into it, screeching in fear. With his cleared field, he stood before Robert's powerful monsters, helpless.

"Finish it," Blake directed solemnly.

"Gaia, attack his Life Points directly!"

The Dragon Champion flew forward, ramming the javelin into Blake's core. He cried out as his Life Points dropped.

BLAKE: 0LP

As the monsters faded from the field, Robert ran to Blake's side. "Whoa, I didn't think that duels would be like _that._ I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Blake said, pushing himself to his feet. "That was a great duel for you. You got exactly the cards you needed for that kind of quick and decisive victory. I didn't expect you to get such a lucky draw or to play so well, but I'm proud of you anyway."

Robert smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"Yep, just keep looking over your cards so you always know what you have in your deck and what strategies you've got, and remember to keep your head in a duel, and you'll go far," Blake directed.

"Alright," Robert nodded.

"Now," said Blake, "come on and we'll go grab some food!"

-

A/N: I did not intend for Robert to win. I actually wanted him to lose fairly badly. However, when Gaia the Fierce Knight, Curse of Dragon, and Polymerization all happened to be in the opening hand (which was totally randomized), I couldn't resist that ultimate play, and Blake's simply didn't draw anything strong enough to make up for such a strong start on Robert's behalf. Anyway, despite the fact that Blake is supposed to be one of the best duelists in his school, he's lost both of his duels, both of the duels thus far in the story . . . of course, he was supposed to lose the first one, but, since I actually play each of these duels, this one simply occured this way because that's how the cards came. I'm hoping that Blake is able to show his true strength soon.


	5. Registration

A/N: A big thank you to yugiohfan for being this story's first reviewer!

-

005 - Registration

Blake stepped out of his vehicle, waving his mother goodbye. Before him was the main arena of his city, standing high above his head. It was gleaming white, with numerous windows, and was well known for housing various professional sporting events. Today, however, it was serving a slightly different purpose.

"Blake! Blake, over here!"

Blake turned, grinning, to see Spencer standing near the back of a long line of people.

"Hey, Spencer!" Blake called, waving. He joined his friend in line. "You haven't been here long, have you?"

"Only a few minutes," Spencer replied. "Robert's here too, but he'll be back in a second."

As if on cue, Robert appeared. "Hi Blake."

"Hey buddy, good to see you."

"Looks like there's a great turn out," Spencer observed.

"Hopefully it's a lot of tough competition," Blake said with a sly grin. "I wouldn't want it to be just a walk in the park."

"It won't be," Spencer declared. "All the members of the DMC are here, as well as the DMC of West River High. Not to mention several other schools and some older and younger players."

"This tournament is gonna be huge," Blake said in hushed excitement.

"I think I'm going to sign up, too," Robert commented quietly.

Blake and Spencer both gave him questioning looks. "Are you sure?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, didn't you just learn Duel Monsters yesterday?"

"Yeah, but the tournament isn't for another month, right?" Robert responded.

"Three weeks," Blake said. "To be fair, you did beat me in our duel yesterday and you have that amazing deck that Will put together, but I have to be honest: You're not going to be lucky enough to pull the cards to make Gaia the Dragon Champion on the first turn of every duel. In fact, it will probably never be that easy. Are you sure you're up to the competition?"

Robert nodded. "I know I just learned, but I had a lot of fun playing. We can keep practicing together and then we'll both participate in the tournament."

Blake mulled it over for a moment. "We do have DMC elections between now and then," he muttered. "That will be good practice."

"That's true," Spencer agreed.

"I'm sorry," Blake said, smiling a bit sheepishly at Robert. "I don't mean to sound so demeaning, but I just want to make sure you feel you're ready before jumping into something at this level."

Robert nodded, but remained silent.

"Hey, you guys, isn't that the new kid?" Spencer said suddenly in a hushed tone.

"The guy you dueled?" Robert questioned Blake.

"Yeah," Blake said tensely, staring at the approaching boy. "That's him."

"So what are you doing here?" Andrew called, his voice harsh. The question was a challenge. "Think you're ready for the big leagues?"

"We've participated in this tournament two years in a row," Blake replied cooly, motioning to himself and Spencer. "Of course we're ready."

"You've participated," Andrew replied, nodding thoughtfully. "That's interesting. Funny, I'd never heard your names up until now."

Spencer regarded him darkly; he understood the insult. Blake, however, seemed not to notice, as his demeanor became less tense.

"I'm not so sure you are ready," Andrew continued, addressing Blake. "You lost pretty badly to me."

"You've got a great strategy." Blake's unshakeable optomism held strong. "If we meet in the tournament, things will be different."

Andrew snickered. "We'll see, but I very much doubt it."

"They've introduced a lot of new cards, and have promised to continue doing so through to tournament time," Spencer interjected, a strong edge to his voice. "It's not enough to have one of the great decks of the past years. Strategies are changing, the entire game is changing, and you can't just be strong enough to deal with plenty of strategies - you've got to be strong enough to deal with strategies you've never even seen before."

"I even heard they're changing the rules," Blake added. "Not enough to add new cards, but they're changing the way the cards are played, too."

Andrew shot a contemptuous sneer to Blake before turning his attention to Spencer. "I know for a fact that not only can my deck handle anything in the current arena that comes my way, but it's more than ready to handle unknown strategies as well. My deck is so strong that my opponents won't even know what hit them when I rip them apart."

Spencer shot a glance to Blake that said, _Get a load of this guy_.

"I've already defeated you," Andrew proceeded, nodding with disinterest at Blake. He pointed at Spencer. "The realprize is _you_. You're the best in the school. When I defeat you, the only thing in my future will be this tournament. I challenge you to a duel here and now. Upon my victory, you will realize that I'm the new best duelist in town, and you will remove yourself from the tournament."

"What?" Spencer growled.

"Are you serious?" yelled Blake angrily. "You've gotta be kidding!"

"I've already defeated you," Andrew said coldly, glaring back at Blake. "Rather easily, in fact. The condition of my victory is extended to you."

"You've got some nerve," Blake grunted.

"Don't sweat it," Spencer said, keeping his calm. "I refuse your challenge."

"Excuse me?" Andrew inquired, an arrogant edge in his voice.

Spencer stepped closer, his jaw locked. "I said I refuse your challenge. We might meet in a duel, and you'll even have the chance to play against me in our annual DMC election tournament. That should be enough."

Andrew looked him up and down several times, angry that he wasn't getting the duel he'd hoped for, but finally nodded with a grunt. "I suppose I'll see you there, then. _If _you're as good as I've heard, which, judging from the skills of the one who proclaimed your skill -" Andrew again shrugged in Blake's direction, "- I'd say you aren't."

"Wait," Robert spoke up, "I saw you duel."

Andrew turned, seeming to see Robert for the first time. Unimpressed, he asked, "Who are you?"

"My name's Robert. I saw your duel against Blake and he taught me some stuff. I like my deck, so do you want to see how you do against it?"

"Wait," Andrew said, holding up a hand in disbelief. "You saw my duel and _then _he taught you some stuff?"

Robert nodded.

Andrew continued to stare for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter.

"What's the problem?" Robert asked, confused.

"You've known how to play Duel Monsters for _almost_ twenty-four hours and you want to duel _me_? You've gotta be kidding!"

"Actually, he's a fast learner," Blake piped up. "He's got great cards and he knows how to use them. Why not give it a shot?"

"Because I don't feel like wasting my time!" Andrew replied harshly.

"It could be fun," Robert muttered quietly.

"Yeah," Blake added. "It's not like you're afraid you're going to lose, so why won't you agree? Are you actually afraid of failure?"

Andrew's eyes flared angrily and he snapped at Blake, "I am _not _afraid of _anything!_ I simply refuse to duel the likes of anyone who is not worthy of my time, and your friend certainly isn't. I'm not going to spend my championship skills on a worthless duelist who hasn't even been playing for a day. And so, I think it's time for me to leave." He turned sharply and strode away.

"What did you do, Blake?" Spencer asked incredulously. "You really got him going. What did you say?"

Blake did not reply. He was staring after the quickly retreating form of Andrew. "He's a strong duelist, there's no doubt about that. So what's his deal?"

-

"My name is Blake Davis and I'd like to sign up," Blake said confidently.

"Of course," the kind young blonde lady at the registration desk smiled politely. "Just place your deck here. We will scan it here to make sure it meets requirements, and then again when you come on the day of the tournament."

"Alright," Blake replied, slipping his deck into the slot the woman had motioned to. The woman clicked away on her computer for a moment before swiping a card the size of a Duel Monsters card and the design of a credit card. She held the card out to Blake.

"Here is your entry pass. It has your deck, name, and other registration information. Bring this with you on the day of the tournament as it is verification that you are indeed a participant."

"Got it," Blake smiled. The card was deep blue, with a magnetic strip on the back. It had a gilded circular symbol on the front, inside of which in stylized letters it said "Duel Monsters Locals."

"You ready?" Spencer asked from nearby.

"Yeah," Blake replied, retrieving his deck. He gave a polite nod of thanks to the woman and rejoined Spencer and Robert, both brandishing their blue registration cards.

"I'm proud of you," Blake said, patting Robert lovingly on the shoulder. "We'll work together and have you ready for the tournament in no time."

"And don't forget that we've got elections coming up," Spencer reminded both of them.

Blake nodded. "We putting up fliers tomorrow?"

Spencer nodded.

"Awesome," Blake smiled. "We'll hold the election tournament, and then in almost a month we'll begin our journey to become World Champions of Duel Monsters!"

-

Completed January 4, 2007


	6. Elections Approaching

006 - Elections Approaching

The door closed silently. He removed his shoes and slowly placed them by the rug. Silently, he began to pad up the stairs.

"Where have you been?"

Andrew stopped.

Pause.

"I said, where have you been?"

Andrew sighed, silently. "Out."

"What?"

Shaking his head, he tried to raise his voice. "Out," he repeated, his voice cracking.

His father appeared, a tall man. He was holding a folded newspaper in his left hand, dangling by his side, and his glasses flashed briefly in the sunlight as he came to view. "Where?"

Andrew stared intently at the stairs. Quietly, trembling, he replied, "Out."

His father's stance hardened. "I asked you _where_."

Andrew met his father's eyes, his own eyes trembling. "I've just been out!"

His father shook his head in exhasperation, throwing the paper onto a nearby table. "I want to know where. Did you go out with your friends?"

Andrew was staring at the stairs again. His cat, Ginger, was circling around his legs. "No." He barely made a sound.

"What?"

Looking up, he said with renewed strength, "No. I don't have friends."

His father nodded knowingly. "That's right, I forgot."

Andrew began to trod up the stairs.

"You've been out playing that game, haven't you?"

He stopped, but didn't turn.

Shaking his head, his father laughed humorlessly. "How many times have I told you to stop playing that stupid card game and start preparing for your real life? You want to get out into the college world and only thing you know how to do is play some dumb _game_? What's wrong with you?"

Andrew continued up the stairs and went to his room. He locked the door.

-

"Good morning, Blake," Spencer said, beaming. "Glad you were able to get up on the bright and early."

"Shocked is more like it," Blake yawned, rubbing his eyes. "I'm not in any way a morning person."

Spencer chuckled. "You didn't forget the fliers, did you?"

"No, I am conscious enough to remember that." Blake pulled out an impressive stack of papers. They read:

Third Annual Elections Tournament

Duel Monsters Club

First official meeting/Informational meeting about tournament Friday. If unable to attend, please contact:

President Spencer Grant

Vice-President Blake Davis

"Beautiful, right?" Blake said proudly.

"They get the point across."

"Aw, come on," Blake sighed. "Give me some credit for my artistic vision!"

Spencer looked at him incredulously. "Artistic vision? Where?"

Striking a valiant pose, Blake held one of the fliers out before him, crying out in a loud, dramatic voice. "Right here! Here, in this flier! It's a beautiful masterpiece of information!"

Aside from the message, the paper was blank. Spencer shook his head hopelessly before taking as close to half the stack of papers as he could manage and walking off to place them around school.

"Hmph, some people don't appreciate great art," Blake sniffed smugly. He reached in his pocket and began searching frantically all over before sprinting off after Spencer. "Wait up! I forgot tape!"

"You've gotta be kidding!"

-

Robert sighed in boredom. English just didn't do it for him.

He thought about the day before, with all those people, and the challenges that lie ahead. Then he let an involuntary smile cross his face at the thought of his duel with Blake. He'd gotten lucky, no doubt about that, but when he'd summoned that amazing creature, Gaia the Dragon Champion, and it had followed his every will and instruction. A powerful warrior atop a dragon hologram that was so believable it was almost real, and he was the one controlling it all.

_It's amazing_, Robert thought to himself. _Amazing that I'm given the chance to control monsters that seem like they came from a dream._

The first meeting of the DMC was coming up on Friday, and then the next week was apparently the beginning of the Election tournament, the winner of which would be President of the Duel Monsters Club. _I don't know if I'm ready to be president of a club like that, especially presiding over people with more skill and experience like Blake, but there's no way I'm going to lay down and make it easy for anyone I'm dueling._

-

Begun and completed Thursday, January 4, 2007


	7. The Duel Monsters Club

007 - The Duel Monsters Club

_Shaking his head, his father laughed humorlessly. "How many times have I told you to stop playing that stupid card game and start preparing for your real life? You want to get out into the college world and only thing you know how to do is play some dumb game? What's wrong with you?"_

_Andrew continued up the stairs and went to his room. He locked the door._

_-_

_Spencer chuckled. "You didn't forget the fliers, did you?"_

_"No, I am conscious enough to remember that." Blake pulled out an impressive stack of papers. They read:_

_Third Annual Elections Tournament_

_Duel Monsters Club_

_First official meeting/Informational meeting about tournament Friday. If unable to attend, please contact:_

_President Spencer Grant_

_Vice-President Blake Davis_

_-_

_. . . Robert thought to himself . . . _I don't know if I'm ready to be president of a club like that, especially presiding over people with more skill and experience like Blake, but there's no way I'm going to lay down and make it easy for anyone I'm dueling.

-

Andrew took his place at the back of the room. He sized up the other kids sitting in the desks nearer the front, noting with silent contempt that there was truly no one of worth in the class, with the _possible _exception of Spencer, standing at the front. The kids were sitting in sporadic groups, some on top of desks, some leaning against them, some cross-legged on the floor, simply making small talk.

"Hi!"

Andrew flinched slightly at the high-pitched, overly cheery voice. He turned his head slowly to look at the source. What he saw was a smiling blonde girl standing before him. She had blue eyes and wore an overly-zealous expression.

"I'm Becca! What's your name?"

Andrew stared angrily for a moment. _I don't know you. I didn't ask you to come over here. Did I _look _like I was in the mood for small talk?_

"My name's Andrew."

"Nice to meet you Andrew! Are you that new kid everyone's talking about? I've heard you're really talented! I hope we get to duel!"

Andrew continued to stare. She talked too much.

"Anyway, I just thought I'd come introduce myself and welcome you to our school and the DMC! Well, I'm going to go say hey to everyone, but you should come sit by me! We'll be great friends in no time, I know it! Well, I'll see you!" She gave a little wave and bounced off to her companions.

"What . . . the . . . ?" Andrew sighed. He felt sudden exhaustion.

"Welcome, everyone!" Blake called, suddenly at the front of the class. Spencer was behind him, shuffling some papers into an organized pile. The sponsoring teacher was behind his desk, apathetically typing on his computer.

The talking died, though Andrew could tell that small talk in the midst of the meeting was generally not frowned on.

Blake continued. "I'm Blake, the standing vice president, and this is our first meeting of the Duel Monsters Club for Central High for the year." There was a small bout of cheering, followed by a bit of sporadic laughter. "This is the third year for Duel Monsters and the third year for us, and this year the CHSDMC is gonna really make waves in the dueling community." More fervent cheering.

"However, first we must get around to the premier order of business, which our standing president will now address."

"Thanks, Blake," Spencer said. Talking quieted a bit more, and it was clear that Spencer's ship was a tad more tightly run. Blake took a seat in the front right corner, sitting sideways to observe the entirety of the room.

"I'd like to extend my own welcome and a special thanks to my vice president, Blake. He's always started my meetings, since I'm not so much for speaking, and I've really appreciated our year in office." There was good natured applause and warm smiles directed at both boys.

"So now, to the issue of this year's president and vice president," Spencer went on. "Normally, in most clubs, the standing president and vice from the previous year would run again and there would probably be a challenger or two and then a vote would be conducted. However, the DMC is proudly different. We're a club focused on an intense game of wits, and so we leave our year's political future in the hands of whosoever can win the most of these battles. This spawned in our first year of operation the prestigious Election Tournament.

"Both Blake and I will be participating, as we are the standing officers, and any and all duelists who wish to participate in the tournament are welcome, however, if you feel you cannot stand up to the responsibilities or the competition, we ask that you do not participate. The tournament is usually fairly challenging, as the best duelists put themselves into it for a coveted prize, but is often a bit of a smaller due to said competition. So again, we implore you to participate only if you're devoted to the position, willing to accept the responsibility, and able to handle the competition."

There were murmurs and looks passed around the room. Andrew stared, the same dark expression adorning his face.

"So, as president, you'll oversee the meetings, organize tournaments between schools and stuff, keep the group active in school, the community, and in dueling. You keep things moving and try to keep something on everyone's calender at all times. The vice president is one rank below, and helps with all of these decisions. It is a lot of fun and a lot of work, but you earn respect in the community and dueling community, so it's definitely worth it."

Andrew continued to stare darkly, watching the meeting progress. Finally, Spencer motioned to Blake, who held up a sheet. "Anyone who wants to participate in this year's tournament, can sign up on this sheet, which Blake will now pass around."

Andrew watched people think it over. Very few signed their names. He noticed the kid from the tournament sign-ups put his name down, the stupid guy that challenged him after not even knowing how to play for a day. He glared a bit more sharply at the back of that impudent kid. Oh, they'd duel. Once Andrew had solidified his place in the regionals by winning the upcoming tournament, he'd have time to waste creaming some punk kid like that. If he didn't meet him in either of the tournaments before hand.

Becca signed her name and then got up. She began to come toward Andrew, the only one who hadn't recieved the sheet yet, with that same bouncy walk that said she was trying too hard. Andrew knew the type. He'd dealt with it before, everywhere. The stupid girls - sometimes boys - who thought it was God's mandate that they be cheerful and happy to everyone.

He'd seen it before, and he didn't need it again.

He quickly signed his name quickly and let Becca return the sheet to the front of the room. She handed it to Spencer, who looked it over briefly.

Nodding, Spencer said, "A few less than I expected, to be honest, but it'll be easy to plan. There are six people's names on the sheet, and Blake and I make eight, so we'll be able to play it in a tournament bracket very conveniently." He held the sheet out to Blake. "Make us a bracket really fast so we can prepare this weekend. Battles begin Monday, and everyone is allowed to come watch. We'll try to get a round done each day, so duelists only have to worry about one duel a day, and that means we should have our final match on Wednesday.

"So, by the powers I still hold, I set the inaugural meeting for next Friday, where Blake and I will either pass on our office to the winners or will reaccept our positions. We hope to see you all there, and if you can't come next week, get me your phone number and e-mail address because we're going to be doing our contact sheet next week as our last act of the current term. Thanks for coming out everybody, duelists stay for tournament listings, and you're all dismissed."

Andrew rose to his feet, noted those who either moved toward Blake as well or who stayed seated expectantly. Blake was busy using his calculator's random function to complete the bracket. Andrew counted quickly, figuring that several people were hanging around out of curiosity.

"Alright," Spencer called after a moment, taking the sheet. "We have our tournament pairings. The first duel: Blake versus Becca."

"I fight the defending vice president?" Becca asked nervously. "Guess I'll have to prepare this weekend, huh?"

Andrew glared at both of them. He had no respect for Blake's dueling skills whatsoever, but found Becca wretchedly annoying. Besides, he already knew he could defeat Blake without barely working at all. _It pains me to say this, but I hope Blake does well in that duel._

"Next duel: Andrew versus Robert."

Andrew was startled, and Robert jumped. _So, _Andrew thought smugly, _I'll get to cream that pipsqueak sooner than I expected._

_I have to face _him? Robert gulped.

_Now that Robert's realized how good a duelist Andrew is, I don't know if he's confident in his own skills against him any more,_ Blake thought darkly. _I wish it hadn't been paired up like that, but there wasn't anything I could do._

"After that, it's Megan versus Mouse."

Mouse, real name Adam, looked at Megan. Both nodded with friendly but determined smiles.

"Finally, it's me versus Nathan," Spencer finished.

Nathan nodded, an intense look on his face, and Spencer gave him a look conveying his determination to remain in his current position. Andrew noted Nathan's intensity, very similar to his own. _Interesting._

"Alright, guys," Spencer sighed. "That's it for us. We have a weekend ahead of us and then it's time to begin. Everyone work this weekend. I hope none of you have homework yet and that everyone comes prepared on Monday. You're dismissed."

Andrew was the first out the door. _I have to beat Robert the novice first, then hopefully face against that loser, Blake, and then, if everything goes as planned, I'll destroy Spencer for the title. But it's not the presidency that I want; it's the recognition that I am truly the unequivocal best._

Andrew grimaced. _On Monday, everyone will realize that I'm a force to be reckoned with._

-

Written Friday, January 5, 2007 (Completed 1:21am Saturday the 6th)


	8. Weekend Warriors

008 - Weekend Warriors

Spencer, Blake, and Robert walked through the doors of Card Galaxy. The Saturday afternoon was bright and there were duelists scattered throughout the shop.

"Hey, guys," Will smiled. He nodded to Robert. "Nice to see you again!"

"Thanks," Robert said.

"How's the deck doing?" Will asked.

Robert shrugged and Blake laughed. "He's doing fine. He played Gaia the Dragon Champion in his second turn when I dueled him, basically beat the crap out of me."

Will nodded. "Glad to hear it works."

"Alright, Robert, let's have us a low-tech duel," Blake suggested. He walked toward a nearby table, Robert following obediently.

"And can I help you?" Will asked Spencer.

Spencer nodded. "We've got elections starting Monday, I'm worried I'm not ready. Can you help me out?"

Will bobbed his head. "I'd be happy to help you." He turned to the boy behind the counter with him. "Hey, I'm gonna go have a duel so watch the counter please."

"Got it."

"Alright, Spencer, we'll get you ready," Will laughed. "Right this way." He and Spencer walked out to the back of the store, in the little basketball court that had been turned to a makeshift dueling arena. "You can pit your deck against mine and we'll hope I give you a challenge."

"Great," Spencer smiled, shuffling his cards and placing them in his duel disk.

"Alright," Will said. "I'll go first."

"Gotcha," Spencer nodded.

SPENCER: 4000LP

WILL: 4000LP

Will spread six cards out before him. "I'll play one monster face-down and set three cards behind that. End turn."

Spencer drew his six cards. "I play Armaill in attack mode!"

An armored humanoid appeared, holding two small swords. Below the torso the humanoid form was serpentine. 700/1300

"Armaill, attack!" Spencer directed. The creature roared approval at his statement, slithering across the field. It slashed the swords across Will's face-down card. A strange hovering creature with a human face surrounded by feathers and holding a scythe appeared. 450/500

"I activate a trap!" Will declared. "Castle Walls!" One of his face-down cards flipped up, revealing a purple card depicting a castle. "This card increases my Hane-Hane's defense by 500."

A wall appeared around Hane-Hane and its defense bumped up to 1000, but it was too late to stop Armaill's attack. The swords came down, and Hane-Hane jabbed his scythe upward, sending Armaill flying back to Spencer's field.

SPENCER: 3700LP

"My Hane-Hane also has a nice little ability," Will continued smugly. "When he's flipped from face-down to face-up, he can send one monster on the field back to its owner's hand, so take back your Armaill."

Hane-Hane swung its scythe in a deadly arc, firing a strong gust of wind at Armaill, who disappeared from the field.

"I'll end my turn," Spencer growled.

Will nodded, drawing his next card. "I place another card face down." One card took the position that Castle Walls had held. "I now switch my Hane-Hane to attack position and equip it with a Spell card, Beast Fangs. This raises its attack and defense by 300 points!"

Huge jaws adorned themselves on the bottom of Hane-Hane's face. 750/800

"Now my Hane-Hane will attack your Life Points directly! Go Hane-Hane!"

Hane-Hane flew forward, slashing his scythe across Spencer's chest and sending automated pain through Spencer's body.

SPENCER: 2950LP

"Now, I end my turn."

"I draw," Spencer announced, looking at his card. "This should work. I play Flame Manipulator!"

A blue haired man appeared. 900/1000

"Flame Manipulator, wipe him out!"

The man conjured a sea of flames, firing it at Hane-Hane.

"Wrong again," Will laughed. "I've got another handy trap, but this time we're increasing it's attack. I play Reinforcements!"

The card will had played his last turn flipped up, its picture depicting a wave of armored soldiers.

"This card is like Castle Walls, but for attack."

A wall of soldiers appeared behind Hane-Hane, increasing its attack. 1250/800

"Crap!" Spencer yelled angrily. The soldiers leapt forward, disappearing in Flame Manipulator's fire. Hane-Hane, on the other hand, spiraled around the fire wall, rushing forward to slash Flame Manipulator in two. It cried out as it disappeared.

SPENCER: 2600LP

"You've got to be kidding me!" Spencer yelled. "I end my turn."

"Right," Will smiled. He drew his next card. "One of my favorite monsters will hit the field now. Silver Fang!"

A roaring silver wolf appeared. 1200/800

"Now, my monsters will do a combined assault on you!"

Hane-Hane slashed his scythe and Silver Fang bit down hard.

SPENCER: 650LP

"Now I end my turn."

_If I don't do something right now, this is my last turn,_ Spencer thought bitterly. He grabbed his next card. "Here we go! First, I play my Monster Reborn to revive the Flame Manipulator!"

The blue haired creature reappeared. 900/1000

"Next, I activate Soul Exchange!" Spencer called. "This card lets me tribute one of your monsters as well as one of mine in order to summon a stronger monster, at the cost of not being able to battle for one turn. I choose your Silver Fang!"

The wolf disappeared in a burst of light, as did Flame Manipulator.

"Now, I play Gaia the Fierce Knight!" A purple armored warrior appeared atop his similarly clad steed, wielding a large red javelin. 2300/2100

"Wow," Will sighed. "This is gonna hurt me almost as much as it will hurt you. I activate my Trap Hole. When you summon a monster with more than 1000 attack, it is destroyed."

"N-no way," Spencer gasped. "You've got to be kidding."

"Sorry, but I know for a fact that that's the end of the duel," Will sighed.

Spencer hung his head as the holographic representations of their cards disappeared. The duel was over.

"I lost," Spencer stammered. "I put everything I had into that last play, and I still lost. What does that mean for me in this tournament? Am I truly ready?"

Will walked to Spencer, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You played a fine duel, I just got the better draws. My traps really gave you some trouble, so you've got to make sure you can handle that when you're playing in that tournament."

Spencer nodded, new determination renewing his shaken spirit. "Yeah. I'll be ready." He smiled gratefully at Will. "Thanks for helping me train. I think I really will be ready when it comes time to duel."

"Well, I'm gonna head back into the shop," Will said. "Come back for another duel anytime."

"Thanks, man," Spencer nodded. He sat down on the asphault and spread his cards out in front of him. _Come on, guys, we've got to get ready. If we work together we can make it to the top again._

Begun 12:33pm Saturday, January 6, 2007

Finished 4:50pm Saturday January 20, 2007


	9. Elections Begin

This duel, like all the others, was really played. However, I did take a few liberties, with some characters not playing the cards they'd drawn that would have ended the duel differently than I had planned. The duel is, for the most part, written as it was played, but I feel it's worth a note to say that I did do a bit of editing to arrive at the conclusion.

-

009 - Elections Begin

Monday had arrived, and as Blake sat through each class, time seemed to move with decreasing speed. He sighed, watching the clock tick liesurely through the day.

Today was the day. _The day! _ It was the beginning of the election tournament, long awaited and finally arrived, and Blake was pumped and ready to display his deck. At long last, the final bell sounded, and Blake felt the freedom flooding him as he walked through the thinning hallways. People were talking excitedly about their plans, happy to be free from homework for the night or complaining about the impending workload.

Blake hummed a tune to himself cheerily as he bounced along toward the meeting room. He'd prepped his deck all weekend, neglecting his math homework, and felt he was more ready than he'd ever be to take on contenders.

He walked happily into the room to see Spencer, Becca, Andrew, and Robert, with a few other members milling around. Spencer called the meeting to order, smiling at Blake as he entered.

"Welcome, everyone," Spencer said. "I'm glad you've all come out here today to watch these matches, and we're hoping for some good duels. First up is Blake versus Becca, but I have breaking news that I just found out late last night that will be incorporated today."

Everyone perked up at this. Could there be some sort of rule change this close to tournament time?

"I want to preface this by saying that I didn't alter my deck at all when I found this out," Spencer said honestly. "I will check it tonight so that I don't have an unfair advantage over anyone else."

_This must really be some big change_, Blake mused. _For Spencer to suggest that alterations should be made to our longstanding decks must mean something big has come._

"This announcement has to do with an official ruling I recieved notification of last nigt," Spencer proceeded. "This will be applied to our tournament here as it is being incorporated into the official tournament battles worldwide."

_Come on already_, Blake sighed. _I like to ramble as much as the next person, but this seems like too big a news flash to beat around the bush._

"The ruling is:" Spencer struck a dramatic pose, "the Life Point total is now 8000!"

A collective gasp ran through the group. _That's definitely big! _ Blake thought. _With a change like that, the entire game is different! Now cards that were phenominal have been halfed in power, while other cards have become more valuable. This totally changes the game!_

Andrew absorbed this new development. _Very interesting._

"Now, after that interesting development, we will proceed with the tournament," Spencer continued. "The first round is Becca versus defending vice-president, Blake!"

Blake shook himself from the shock and took his position on one side of the room. The desks had been pushed aside to create room for the holographic projections to do battle. He looked across the room to his opponent. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ears and readied her duel disk.

"You ready?" Blake asked, a competitive smile on his face.

"As I'll ever be," Becca replied.

"Let's duel!"

BLAKE: 8000LP

BECCA: 8000LP

"You can choose who goes first, since I'm the defending champ," Blake said.

"Alright, I'll go first" Becca smiled, drawing six cards. "I'll start things off by giving my already high Life Points a considerable boost. I play Dian Keto the Cure Master! This increases my Life Points by 1000!"

A robed priest appeared, chanting a healing incantation.

BECCA: 9000LP

"Now I'll play one card and one monster facedown." Two cards appeared on the field face down, one horizontal and one vertical. "That ends my turn."

Blake drew. "Well, let's get this show on the road. First, I play De-Spell. It flips up that face down Magic or Trap card that you've got and, if it's Magic, it is destroyed."

"Too bad," Becca smiled, displaying her Waboku Trap card proudly.

"Don't get too excited, now I know your plan," Blake mused. "Now, I can give myself a bit of a boost, too. Goblin's Secret Remedy gives my Life Points an extra 600 points."

BLAKE: 8600LP

"Now I set one card face down and summon my Flame Manipulator."

One card materialized, and before it appeared a blue haired man in tattered clothes. 900/1000

"Now, Flame Manipulator, attack!"

With a sweep of his hand, the Flame Manipulator sent a wave of fire washing across the field to strike Becca's face down card.

"Wrong move," Becca laughed. A golden haired, blue skinned woman in green robes with a strange headdress appeared. "My Mystical Elf has more than enough defense power to stave off your attack." 800/2000

The wave of fire hit Mystical Elf, but was caught in a golden light and launched right back at his side of the field. Blake growled as the backwash of fire struck him.

BLAKE: 7500LP

_Wow, this new Life Point total is really interesting, _Blake thought to himself. _I just lost a considerable amount of Life Points, but I'm still high in points and ready to go. Before, a hit like that would've really taken me down, but the 4000 point increase changes the game, letting me fight longer and unleash the true power of my deck._

"I end my turn," Blake announced, comforted by his high Life Point total.

"I draw," Becca commented. "Now, I sacrifice my Mystical Elf to summon Doma the Angel of Silence!"

Mystical Elf disappeared, and in her place arose a frightening figure. It was covered in crimson armor and had four wings - an upper set that were bat like, and a lower set that was angelic. Beneath its helmet, glowing red eyes glared, and it held a large scythe in its hand. 1600/1400

"Now, Doma, destroy his Flame Manipulator!"

Doma let out an unearthly roar, launched across the field, and sliced its scythe through Flame Manipulator. Blake's monster cried out in shock as its top half seperated from its bottom half and it dissolved before his eyes.

"No way!"

BLAKE: 6800LP

"I think that's enough punishment for one turn," Becca declared. "You can go now."

"I'll draw, then," Blake announced, "and I'll play one monster face down and activate a Magic card, Swords of Revealing Light! It sends swords onto your field to stop you from attacking for three turns!"

Three glowing green energy swords crashed down around Becca, blocking her and her monsters from attacking.

"You can go now."

_His last few moves have been okay, but he's made more than a few amateurish mistakes, _Andrew pondered. _That Swords of Revealing Light is a convenient stall, but does it really play into his strategy?_

Becca drew. "I'll play one monster face down and end my turn."

One of the swords disappeared.

Blake drew. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

Becca drew again. "I'll end my turn."

A second sword disintegrated.

Blake drew as well. "I also end my turn."

_This is my last turn with that restriction, _Becca noted, drawing another card. "I'll end my turn."

The final sword disappeared. Blake snapped up his next card. "Well, I let you have peace during your time with your field locked, but now things will get moving again. I set one monster face down and end my turn."

Becca drew. _He's got two monsters and three Magic or Trap cards, so I'll do this. _"I summon Ray and Temperature!" A small orange sun appeared with a dark look on its face, with a smiling blue wind spirit was swirling around it. 1000/1000

"Now, Doma, attack his face down card on the left!" Becca directed, indicating the card Blake had set first.

Doma slashed its scythe toward the card, but a membranous wall appeared, a pale woman's face in the center. 1000/1850

"You've just attacked my Wall of Illusion, and in addition to losing this battle, you're going to get another effect," Blake smiled.

Doma's scythe bounced off Wall of Illusion, and the membranous skin began to glow with dark energy that wrapped around Doma's body. Suddenly, the Angel of Silence disappeared.

"What happened?" Becca cried.

Blake laughed. "When my Wall of Illusion is attacked, the attacking monster is sent back to its owner's hand. Plus, since its defense was higher than your attack, you lose Life Points."

"Not quite," Becca replied. "I activate Waboku to protect my Life Points for the rest of this turn!"

A group of teal-robed women appeared, absorbing the backlash of energy radiating from the Wall of Illusion.

"I'm not afraid to keep up the onslaught!" Becca growled. "Ray and Temperature, destroy his other face down monster!"

Ray, the sun, blew a ball of fire into being in front of his face. His companion, the freezing wind Temperature, swirled into position. She swirled through the firball, becoming a flaming stream that rushed toward Blake's remaining face down card.

"Too bad, wrong move! You've just attacked my trap master!" Blake smiled. An evilly grinning man with a painted white face, green cape, and white gloves appeared, laughing maniacally. Beneath the cape, instead of a body, it had a chainsaw, bladed arm, drill, buzzsaw, as well as several other hidden weapons. Finally it had a red tophat on that was, in actuality, its mouth. 500/1100

The Trap Master brought up gloved hands in a protective position, but the buzzsaw appeared in front of its hands at the last second, spinning and sending the fire back at Becca. The women summoned by Waboku leapt in front of it, absorbing the fire.

"You must have forgotten that my Waboku protects me for the whole turn, so I don't lose any Life Points. And I know a little secret: Your Trap Master's effect that destroys a Trap Card on the field is mandatory, and since my Waboku leaves the field once it's activated, you've got to destroy one of your own cards!"

"That's true," Blake nodded solemnly, "so I'll select my own copy of Waboku." His card flipped up, and Trap Master drove his drill through the card, ripping it to shreds.

"I'll end my turn by setting one card," Becca finished.

Blake drew his next card. "I'm going to use another De-Spell Magic card to see your other set card."

Becca laughed. "That's ironic. It's another Waboku."

_Sick of that card already,_ Blake growled. "I'm going to end my turn."

Becca smiled as she drew her next card. "I'll sacrifice my Mystical Elf to return Doma the Angel of Silence to the field." Mystical Elf disappeared, and Doma replaced her. 1600/1400

"Now, I've got a surprise for you," Becca smiled evilly. "I have a little magic card called Raigeki!"

"How did you get that card?" Blake cried angrily.

"Luck, I suppose," Becca replied. "But you know what this does: It destroys every card on my opponent's side of the field!"

"I know what it does all right," Blake growled.

There was a roar of thunder, and then two streaks of lightning struck the field, instantly destroying Blake's monsters.

"Oh no!" Blake said, gritting his teeth. "Now I'm open to attack!"

-

Completed March 3, 2007


	10. Blake Fights Back

The card Reverse Trap is used in this duel, but its effect is different than its actual effect. In this chapter, it negates any increases or decreases to ATK and DEF. In real life, it switches increases to decreases and vice versa. This will be corrected in the future.

This duel, like all the others, was really played. However, I did take a few liberties, with some characters not playing the cards they'd drawn that would have ended the duel differently than I had planned. The duel is, for the most part, written as it was played, but I feel it's worth a note to say that I did do a bit of editing to arrive at the conclusion.

-

010 - Blake Fights Back

_"Now, I've got a surprise for you," Becca smiled evilly. "I have a little magic card called Raigeki!"_

_"How did you get that card?" Blake cried angrily._

_"Luck, I suppose," Becca replied. "But you know what this does: It destroys every card on my opponent's side of the field!"_

_"I know what it does all right," Blake growled._

_There was a roar of thunder, and then two streaks of lightning struck the field, instantly destroying Blake's monsters._

_"Oh no!" Blake said, gritting his teeth. "Now I'm open to attack!"_

"Exactly," Becca smiled, "so I send both of my monsters to attack you!"

Ray and Temperature launched its fire blast and Doma slashed its scythe, both attacks connecting with Blake and sending simulated pain through his body.

BLAKE: 4200LP

"It's your turn, now," Becca said smugly.

Blake drew his next card. "I'll activate my trap, Ultimate Offering." Blake's face down card flipped up, revealing a smiling, fat green goblin. "It allows me to summon more than one monster per turn at the cost of only 500 Life Points."

"Now, I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman!" A blonde haired man appeared wielding a shining sword. 1700/1000

"I'll also take advantage of my new trap card's ability by paying 500 Life Points to summon Rogue Doll!"

BLAKE: 3700LP

The green goblin sneered at Becca, and Rogue Doll appeared in a burst of golden light from the goblin's head. The Doll itself was simply the face, arms and staff of a statue, while the rest of it was purple robes. It hovered in the air. 1600/1000

"Now I send Neo to attack Doma and Rogue Doll to attack Ray and Temperature!"

Becca tapped a button on her duel disk. "I activate Waboku to protect my Life Points!"

Neo the Magic Swordsman fired a beam of mystic energy from his fingertip, blasting Doma's scythe away. With a clean sweep of his sword, Doma was destroyed. Rogue Doll lowered her staff, blasting Ray and Temperature with a magic beam.

"I might not have taken any of your Life Points, but now your field is clean and I have the upper hand. Let's see what you've got."

_I have to admit, _Andrew thought to himself, _the moron isn't doing as horribly as I'd expected. Of course, I guess the rule change helped him. We'll see whether he's good enough to pull through this duel with such an obvious disadvantage in Life Points._

"I draw and activate my own Goblin's Secret Remedy!" Becca announced. "Now my Life Points will be boosted even more!"

BECCA: 9600LP

"Finally, I'll defend myself with this monster," Becca continued, placing a monster face down on the field. "I end my turn."

"I draw," Blake declared. "Now, Neo the Magic Swordsman will attack your face down monster."

The monster Becca had set appeared: A solemn woman in golden robes playing a harp. 800/2000

"You've attacked my Spirit of the Harp," Becca said. "That means you're going to be losing Life Points."

Blake sneered as Neo shot a spell at Spirit of the Harp that bounced off, hitting him and draining his Life Points.

BLAKE: 3400LP

"I'm finished with my turn," Blake grunted.

"I'll draw, then," Becca replied. She looked over her cards before shrugging. "I guess there's nothing I can do. End turn."

Blake drew and sighed. "With a defense like that, I can't do anything either."

"In that case, I'll draw again." She looked at the card and placed it on the field. "I set a card and end my turn."

Blake drew and shrugged. "End turn."

Becca drew and ended her turn as well. Blake did the same. Becca did the same again.

Spencer nudged Robert. "This duel was exciting, but now . . . not so much."

Blake drew and set the card, ending his turn.

"I draw," Becca said, hoping for something good. "Now, I'll activate my Magic card, Monster Reborn! This card will bring Doma the Angel of Silence back to the field!"

"That thing again?" Blake cried disgustedly.

"You don't like him?" Becca mocked. "That's too bad, because he doesn't like you, either! And he'll be happy to show you just how little compassion he has for you with this! Silver Bow and Arrow!"

A bow with a glimmering arrow appeared in the hands of Doma. 1900/1700

"As you can see, this card gives Doma a healthy boost of 300 attack and defense points, which leaves him more than strong enough to deal with your Magic Swordsman! Attack, Doma!"

Doma drew the glittering arrow back and unleashed it. It soared across the field, slamming into Neo's chest. Neo gave a final cry as he left the field.

BLAKE: 3200LP

"Geez, you didn't have to be so mean about it," Blake whined.

"Doma shows no mercy," Becca replied adamantly.

"Well, it's my turn now," Blake smiled. "I'll start things off by laying a little card face down for you. Then, I'll sacrifice my Rogue Doll to summon a monster face down. That ends my turn."

"Going on the defense, huh?" Becca pried. "Well, we'll have to see about that. I'm bringing Ray and Temperature back for more!"

The sun and wind combination monster reappeared on the field. 1000/1000

_Now she has three monsters, _Blake noted unhappily.

_Blake's really losing field advantage here, _Spencer thought worriedly. _He's got to turn this thing around! Becca's great, but our defending vice president can't go down in round one!_

"Now, Doma, show him your power!" Becca commanded.

Blake laughed. "Your Doma's strong, I'll admit, but some monsters are even stronger. Meet my Reaper of the Cards!"

A floating creature of dark robes appeared, wielding a scythe with a necklace of cards round its neck. 1380/1930

"You may have noticed that his defense is just enough to stave off your attack, but then take his effect into account. Not only is he strong enough to withstand your pumped-up Doma's strike, but he's also going to destroy your face down card - if it's a trap, that is."

"It is," Becca growled begrudgingly. "It is my third and final Waboku."

Blake shrugged. "Too bad. Looks like you won't be able to protect yourself this turn."

Becca watched helplessly as Doma pulled the bowstring and let fly the arrow. Reaper watched unexcitedly as the arrow flew across the field and, in one fluid motion, swatted it with his scythe, sending it hurling back at Becca.

BECCA: 9570LP

"That doesn't mean anything," Becca growled.

Blake snapped up his next card. "It means your turn's over. Now it's my move!" _Interesting. Maybe I can use this card later. _"Now, I summon Rogue Doll in attack mode!"

Another floating doll appeared. 1600/1000

"Now, I activate my trap card, Reverse Trap! Its effect negates any increases to a monster's attack for one turn."

A man in tribal robes and a stylized mask appeared. He danced onto Becca's side of the field and grabbed the Silver Bow and Arrow from Doma's hands, dancing around and chanting.

"Now, you know that when monsters of equal attack and defense meet in battle, both of them are destroyed," Blake smiled. "So I'll switch my Reaper of the Cards into attack mode and send my monsters on the assault!"

Rogue Doll rushed forward, her staff meeting Doma's scythe. After a brief struggle, both monsters were destroyed. Reaper of the Cards floated ominously above Ray and Temperature for several moments before slashing his scythe through the two of them and returning to Blake's field without a glance.

BECCA: 8190LP

_Alright! _Spencer cheered inwardly. _Blake just won the field advantage again!_

"I still have the protection of my Spirit of the Harp," Becca reassured herself. "So I'll begin my turn by drawing, and then I'll call my own Rogue Doll to the field."

Her copy of the monster appeared. 1600/1000

"I switch my Spirit of the Harp to attack mode and go in for the kill!"

Rogue Doll batted Reaper of the Cards' scythe to the ground, blasting him to smithereens with a spell. Spirit of the Harp played a strange melody that sent golden light across the field to lash at Blake's Life Points.

BLAKE: 2020LP

"That will be it from me for now," Becca chuckled, pleased with her play.

"I'll draw and place one card face down," Blake said, slapping the card he drew down onto the field. "Now I summon The Stern Mystic!" A wrinkled man with pointy ears and a staff appeared. 1500/1200

"Now, my Stern Mystic will destroy your Spirit of the Harp!" At his bidding, Stern Mystic leapt across the field with shocking agility and ease, smashing his cane into Spirit of the Harp like a bludgeon and destroying her instantly.

BECCA: 7870LP

"That was silly," Becca mocked. "You may have destroyed a monster of mine, but you left yourself open for attack."

"It was worth it to defeat that defender," Blake replied valiantly.

"We'll see," Becca replied darkly. "I summon Petit Angel and equip her with Silver Bow and Arrow!"

A little pink sphere with wings and a halo appeared, sporting a bow and arrow. 900/1200

"Now, my Rogue Doll will destroy your Stern Mystic, leaving a path for Petit Angel to hit your Life Points directly!"

Blake watched angrily as the Stern Mystic was blasted away and cried out as the holographic arrow flew threw his heart.

BLAKE: 1020LP

_Blake has to do something fast or he'll run out of Life Points!_ Robert thought frantically.

Blake drew. "I'll set a monster and end my turn."

Becca drew. "I'll send my monsters on the offensive again! Rogue Doll, attack!"

"Not so fast," Blake replied, grinning. Another Stern Mystic had appeared, crouched with his cane in front of him for protection. 1500/1200

"That thing doesn't have enough defense to survive my attack!" Becca cried triumphantly.

"Not until I give him a boost!" Blake smiled. "Castle Walls!" His trap card flipped and walls burst from the ground, surrounding the Stern Mystic. "This trap gives my monster a defensive boost of 500 points!" 1500/1700

Rogue Doll's attack bounced uselessly off the walls, slamming instead into Becca.

BECCA: 7770LP

"Fine. Take your turn."

Blake smiled. "I will, thank you." He drew. "I set two cards, one magic or trap, and the other a monster. End turn."

"You can't keep this up forever!" Becca growled. "Rogue Doll, attack his Stern Mystic!"

"You fell into the same trap twice!" Blake laughed, flipping another Castle Walls.

BECCA: 7670LP

"My Petit Angel can still attack your face down monster!" Becca cried.

Blake smiled pityingly. "Now you're really not thinking. You've just attacked my Mystical Elf, and you're going to pay."

Mystical Elf appeared in green robes, chanting. 800/2000

Petit Angel's arrow glanced off, striking Becca for damage.

BECCA: 6570LP

"Alright!" Becca yelled in frustration. "Just take your turn!"

"Gladly," Blake replied, drawing. "I'll first lay one card down and then switch Stern Mystic to attack mode." The old man rose to his feet. "Stern Mystic, destroy Petit Angel!"

The Stern Mystic ran forward, slamming his staff into Petit Angel with tremendous force.

BECCA: 5970LP

"That ends my turn," Blake smiled.

"I draw!" Becca announced. "Now, Rogue Doll, destroy Stern Mystic!"

Blake shook his head. "When will you learn? My defense isn't the only thing I can alter! I activate the trap card Reinforcements! This gives my monster an extra boost of 500 attack points!"  
Goblin warriors appeared with the Stern Mystic. They rushed forward to be blasted by Rogue Doll, and the Stern Mystic ran through them, destroying Rogue Doll in one fell swoop.

BECCA: 5470LP

"Alright, I'll set a monster and end my turn," Becca finished.

Blake drew. _My Life Points have gotten low. If she has another high defense point monster waiting for me, it will be too big of a risk to attack it._ "I'll set one monster and end my turn."

"I draw and play another monster face down," Becca said.

"Alright, I'll draw," Blake said, snapping the next card off the top of his deck. "Now, I flip up my face down monster, Hane-Hane! When he's flipped, I can send one card on the field to the owner's hand, so say goodbye to your newly set monster!"

Hane-Hane, a hovering bird with a grotesque face wielding a scythe, appeared, whipping its scythe through the air and creating a gust that blew one of Becca's monster back to her hand.

"Now, I activate a trap card!" Blake declared. "It's Two-Pronged Attack! I'll destroy my Hane-Hane and face down Mystical Elf to destroy your face down monster!"

Blake's monsters disappeared and a mechanical hand extended from the holographic projection of Blake's flipped card, ripping through Becca's final monster.

"Now your field is clear and you're open for attack!" Blake declared. "So I'll play a magic card, Book of Secret Arts!"

A book floating in golden energy appeared before the Stern Mystic, hovering in front of him, emanating light. The mystic was engulfed in the golden energy of the book and his points rose. 1800/1500

"Stern Mystic," Blake called, pointing his finger at Becca, "attack Becca's Life Points!"

Stern Mystic rushed across the field, slamming his staff into Becca's stomach. She cried out as her Life Points drained.

BECCA: 3670LP

Becca grimaced. "You got a lucky shot. I won't give it to you again!"

"Alright!" Spencer said to Robert. "He definitely needed to hit her Life Points, and he made a really good play there."

"Yeah, that was a good turn," Robert agreed.

_The kid's right_, thought Andrew silently. _That _was _a good play._

"I end my turn," Blake announced finally. "Let's see what you've got!"

Becca drew. "First, I'll activate my spell, Remove Trap! It will destroy your Ultimate Offering trap card." Blake narrowed his eyes as his trap disappeared.

"Now, I'll set one monster face-down and play a spell, Swords of Revealing Light!" Becca's own copy of the card Blake had used earlier appeared, slamming three swords onto Blake's field and locking their attacks. "I end my turn."

"I'll draw," Blake said, snapping a card from the top of his deck. "I end my turn." A sword disappeared.

Becca drew her next card. "I set one card face down and play Ray and Temperature in attack mode!"

The sun and wind combo monster appeared yet again. 1000/1000

Becca nodded contently. "End turn."

Blake placed the next card into his hand. "I end again." The second sword disappeared.

"Draw," Becca announced. "I'll end my turn."

Blake drew. "I end again." The final sword disintegrated.

Becca nodded as she drew her next card. _His field is open to attack again now, so I've got to play this one safe._ "I switch Ray and Temperature to defense mode and end my turn."

"Alright, I'll draw." Blake picked up the next card. Looking at the card, he felt a smile come across his face. "Great, this is just what the doctor ordered." He held the card out to display it to Becca. "Goblin's Secret Remedy! It will give my Life Points a much-needed boost of 600!"  
BLAKE: 1620LP

"Now I have room to move," Blake breathed happily. "Stern Mystic, destroy Ray and Temperature!" With a great thrust of his cane, Stern Mystic obliterated Ray and Temperature.

"At least he was in defense position, so my Life Points are safe!" Becca sighed.

"Yeah, but I'll get to them, soon enough," Blake smiled, "although, for now, I guess I'll just end my turn."

"Good, I'll draw." She looked her hand over. _None of my monsters are strong enough to handle an 1800 attacker, but my Spirit of the Harp on the field can at least protect me until next turn._ "I end my turn."

Blake drew, and a huge smile spread on his face. "I guess it's my lucky day. I activate a spell, Change of Heart! It gives me control of one of your monsters for one turn, and you've only got one!"

Becca sneered angrily as her Spirit of the Harp, still face down, disappeared, reappearing on his side of the field.

"I flip Spirit of the Harp into attack mode," Blake smiled. The golden robed, harp-playing woman appeared. 800/2000

"And now, my Stern Mystic and Spirit of the Harp will combine for an assault on your Life Points!" Both monsters attacked in their respective manners, Stern Mystic with a swipe of his cain, and Spirit of the Harp with an energy shockwave sent from striking her harp.

BECCA: 1070LP

"Wow," Spencer noted, "that's brought Becca's Life Points into the same range Blake's have been. He's really taken this duel away from her."

"Guess that's why he was vice-president last year," Robert mumbled.

"Yeah."

Blake pointed across the field to Becca, who was still reeling from the assault. "I end my turn and you get your Spirit of the Harp back, but you and I both know this duel's almost over. Take your turn."

_It is almost over, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let him have a victory, _Becca sneered silently, snapping the next card from her deck. _I still haven't got anything to beat him with! But if I don't play anything, my hand will have seven cards and I'll be forced to discard. I guess there's nothing else I can do but play a monster. Petit Angel will be able to defend me._

"I play a monster face down," Becca announced, "and that will end my turn."

"Like I said, the end is near," Blake declared again. "But before I attack, I'm going to even the score a bit more with Red Medicine, to give my Life Points a 500 point boost!"

BLAKE: 2120LP

_I can't believe that,_ Andrew thought to himself. _The moron has brought his Life Points back up to where Becca's had been. Perhaps he's gotten better since our duel._

"Now I play another spell card: Fissure! It will destroy your Spirit of the Harp."

Becca watched in horror as her main defender was sucked through a crack in the earth.

"Now, Stern Mystic, destroy her last monster!" With a swoop of his cane, Petit Angel was gone. At last, Blake announced, "I'm finished; you can go."

Becca drew, her hand shaking a bit. _I've had control of this duel the whole time and he just ripped it away from me. Now he's sitting there with a powerful monster and I'm getting nothing!_ Her eyes lit up. _My final defense card!_

"Set one monster face down and end my turn!"

Blake drew. _She might have a few strong defenders left, but at this point I have to take the risk. _"I'll play my monster, Neo the Magic Swordsman!"

A humanoid warrior in green, stylized armor appeared, holding a beautiful sword and sporting straight golden hair that fell around his shoulders. 1700/1000

"Sorry," Becca called, "but his attack is too high, so I activate my Trap Card, Trap Hole! It destroys monsters that are summoned and have higher than 1000 attack points!"

A hole opened beneath Neo and, almost as suddenly as he'd appeared, he was gone.

"Whatever," Blake said begrudgingly, trying not to let the loss get to him. "I can still attack with Stern Mystic!"

"Wrong move again," Becca smiled. "Because it's another Spirit of the Harp, with 2000 defense points!"

Blake cried out in frustration as Stern Mystic was sent flying back across the field.

BLAKE: 1920LP

Controlling his anger as best he could, Blake spat, "End turn."

Spencer frowned. "Blake's been in control of this duel for the last few turns, but Becca just had a slew of good plays. It's shaken him up a bit."

"He can still win though," Robert observed.

"Come on!" Spencer called to his friend. "You can do it!"

"I set one monster and end my turn," Becca announced.

_She's still on the defensive,_ Blake thought calmingly as he drew his next card. _I'll win this._ He glanced at his card. _She's got me locked in place right now, so playing this guy in attack mode wouldn't be smart. I'll set up a defense - just in case._

"I set one monster face down and attack your face down with Stern Mystic!" As another Petit Angel fell Blake finished his turn.

Becca snapped up another card. "I activate Pot of Greed! It lets me draw two cards!" She drew both of them, fanning out her ample hand in front of her.

"Now, I've got a good play for you," Becca smirked, "because I'm finally getting rid of your pesky Stern Mystic!"

"How do you plan on doing that?" Blake asked confidently, effectively hiding his fear of the possibility.

"Because I have Soul Exchange!" Becca smiled. "This forces you to give up one of your monsters as a sacrifice for one of mine, at the cost of me skipping my battle phase this turn."

"No!" Blake screamed as Stern Mystic disappeared.

"Now, I summon my Gyakutenno Megami!" A sleek elven woman appeared with flowing green locks and a simple but beautiful golden headdress. 1800/2000

"It's too bad that I can't attack this turn, or I'd put an end to this duel," Becca murmured nonchalantly. "As it stands, you can go."

"Blake's just lost his strongest monster of the duel!" gasped Spencer. "Now she's got the strength on her side and the Life Point total is way too low for him to last much longer without pulling a miracle!"

-

Completed March 3, 2007


	11. The First Duel Is Over!

This duel, like all the others, was really played. However, I did take a few liberties, with some characters not playing the cards they'd drawn that would have ended the duel differently than I had planned. The duel is, for the most part, written as it was played, but I feel it's worth a note to say that I did do a bit of editing to arrive at the conclusion.

-

011 - The First Duel is Completed!

_"Now, I've got a good play for you," Becca smirked, "because I'm finally getting rid of your pesky Stern Mystic!"_

_"How do you plan on doing that?" Blake asked confidently, effectively hiding his fear of the possibility._

_"Because I have Soul Exchange!" Becca smiled. "This forces you to give up one of your monsters as a sacrifice for one of mine, at the cost of me skipping my battle phase this turn."_

_"No!" Blake screamed as Stern Mystic disappeared._

_"Now, I summon my Gyakutenno Megami!" A sleek elven woman appeared with flowing green locks and a simple but beautiful golden headdress. 1800/2000_

_"It's too bad that I can't attack this turn, or I'd put an end to this duel," Becca murmured nonchalantly. "As it stands, you can go."_

_"Blake's just lost his strongest monster of the duel!" gasped Spencer. "Now she's got the strength on her side and the Life Point total is way too low for him to last much longer without pulling a miracle!"_

"I draw and play one monster face down," Blake said quietly. "End turn."

_He's done, _Andrew thought to himself.

Becca drew. "I play Rogue Doll in attack mode!" The floating idol appeared. 1600/1000

"Now, Megami! Destroy his first face down monster!" Gyakutenno Megami leapt gracefully across the field, spinning into a beautiful kick that looked much more for show than for battle. Nonetheless, Blake's Flame Manipulator appeared for a moment and then was destroyed.

"Good!" Becca exulted. "Now, Rogue Doll, take out his last defender!"

Blake let a smile grace his lips. "Stupid move."

"What are you talking about?" Becca cried. "You don't have any traps to protect yourself!"

"I don't need them," Blake said. "Or did you think that you were the only duelist who played a defensive game?"

"What?"

Before she could do anything, Rogue Doll had already attacked Blake's card. It was a masked figure with a shock of spiky blue hair. 1200/2000

"You've attacked my Aqua Madoor, and the penalty's coming from your Life Points!" ginned Blake.

Becca grimaced harshly.

BECCA: 670LP

"I almost can't believe it," Andrew said to himself. "The idiot's brought the girl's score to be wretchedly low. If only he had a respectable field prescence."

Becca was nearly choked with frustration. "Just go."

Blake drew. _Even with my defenses, I still need a clincher here to end this thing._ "Alright!" Blake cried. "It doesn't matter that my draw wasn't the key card I needed, because I get another chance with this: Card Destruction!"

"Not that!" Becca called.

"Oh yes," smirked Blake. "This forces both of us to discard the entirety of our hands and draw an equal number of cards."

Both of them sent their cards to their graveyards and drew new hands.

"Now," Blake smiled, "I'm setting two cards face down and playing a monster face down. Your turn."

Becca drew weakly. _That Card Destruction ripped me a new one._ "I'll attack with Gyakutenno Megami on your face down!"

An even bigger smirk crossed Blake's face. "You've done exactly what I wanted!"

"What?" Becca asked.

"You attacked Hane-Hane, and when he's flipped, I can send one monster back to my opponent's hand. Your attack will still go through, but say goodbye to Gyakutenno!"

Gyakutenno Megami sent Hane-Hane flying but, in the moments before deletion, Hane-Hane retaliated with a gust of wind that made Gyakutenno disappear from the field.

"That doesn't matter," Becca sneered. "Because I didn't play a monster this turn, so I'll use my summon to sacrifice my Spirit of the Harp on the field and bring Gyakutenno Megami back out!"

Blake watched the monster return while Becca laughed. "You thought you could get rid of her that easily didn't you? Well once I find a way around your Aqua Madoor, this duel's over, so take your final turn!"

"Funny you should say that," Blake said quietly, drawing his card, "because, like it or not, this _is _the last turn."

"Don't kid yourself," Becca sneered. "You've played a good duel, I'll give you that, but your monsters don't have enough attack power to deal with Gyakutenno!"

"Don't jump the gun," Blake smiled. "This duel's over, and once you stop arguing, I'll show you just how you meet your end."

_He's full of it,_ Andrew thought. _I'd bet this duel continues._

"Could it be true?" Spencer asked excitedly. "Has Blake finally found the winning combo?"

"Keep your eyes on me," Blake said, "because you don't want to miss this!"

"This should be good," Becca laughed, but deep inside she was getting a bad feeling.

"Now, I'm gonna switch Aqua Madoor to attack mode!" The masked sorcerer stood from his kneeling position, readying himself for battle.

Blake slapped a card onto his duel disk. "Next, I summon Rogue Doll to join him on my field!" 1600/1000

Becca watched as the floating creature appeared before her. She began to laugh, bursting into full-on hysterics. "You idiot! _That's _your play? You just set the one card I couldn't get past into the mode that I can get through with no problem _and _you summoned another monster that's also too weak!"

"I don't understand it either," Spencer whispered from the sidelines.

"Who says I'm finished?" Blake smiled. "Because I still have these cards on the field, and one of them spells your doom!"

"I have my doubts," Becca smirked sarcastically.

_Does he really have a way to pull off a win? _Andrew wondered.

"I activate my trap, Reinforcements! You know what this does, and so I'm giving a 500 point boost to my Rogue Doll's attack score!"

A goblin battle force appeared behind Rogue Doll. 2100/1000

Becca gasped. "It's attack . . . it's so high!"

"I think you can see where this duel is going," smiled Blake contentedly.

"I - I don't have traps!" Becca cried. "I'm not protected!"

"No you aren't," Blake said. "It's been a fun duel, but it's over now. Rogue Doll, destroy Gyakutenno Megami!" The idol floated ominously across the field.

"Megami!" Becca screamed. "You have to fight! Do it! You can defeat that doll!" But before Gyakutenno Megami had a chance to do anything, the goblin fighting force behind Rogue Doll leapt forward. They latched onto her, holding her down and spreading her arms and legs out in a helpless position.

"Destroy her, Rogue Doll!" Blake called with a triumphant edge. Rogue Doll raised her staff and, in a flash of light, Becca's field was cleared.

BECCA: 370LP

"It's over," Blake pronounced quielty.

Becca fell to her knees. "I . . . can't believe it."

_Nor can I, _Andrew agreed silently.

"He did it!" Spencer and Robert cried simultaneously.

"Sorry, Becca, but I was prepared to win this," Blake said. "And so: Aqua Madoor! Finish this duel!"

The monster put its hands together in front of it and a shimmering shell of blue energy began to dance about its body. Without warning, a tidal wave sprang from the ground, raised high in the air by Aqua Madoor's spell. Becca looked up at it helplessly, a calmness and acceptance crossing her face.

"This duel . . . was great," Becca sighed.

The water crashed down around her head.

BECCA: 0LP

In the next moments, the roar of the wave died down slowly. The holographic water and the monsters standing on the field faded from existence as the hologram system shut down. Then, Spencer began to clap.

Like the falling rain pattering on the roof of a house, applause spread throughout the room. Blake walked over to Becca, still kneeling on the ground with her head down. He stopped in front of her and extended a hand.

"That was an intense duel," Blake smiled. "You really made me work my deck for everything it was worth!"

Becca smiled, accepting the outstretched hand and letting Blake pull her to her feet. "You're a great duelist. I wanted to win really badly, but I'm not going to sulk because I was beaten by someone of your skill."

"I'm glad," Blake smiled, and the two of them hugged.

The duel was over.

Spencer walked to the two of them, clasping both of them on the back. Then he grabbed Blake's wrist, raising his arm high in the air. "We have a winner!" The room's applause gained gusto.

"I'm sure that Blake's happy about retaining his title of Vice President through the first round," Spencer smiled. "But it was certainly an intense duel. All you duelists who have yet to compete have just seen: You've got tough battles ahead of you. Even Blake, the vice president, nearly lost, so that means anything can happen and anyone can win."

The duelists in the room nodded solemnly.

Spencer nodded at everyone. "We'll take a five minute break now, and when we come back we'll have our second duel of the first round. It's Andrew versus Robert!"

Becca and Blake shared a last hug and she went to join some of the other girls in the room. Spencer turned to Blake. "I'll admit you had me worried there several times, but you pulled through. Great job, man."

"Thanks again," Blake smiled. "But let's go see about Robert. He's gotta be stoked about his match coming up!"

The two of them walked over toward Robert.

As they neared, Spencer leaned toward Blake and whispered, "I'm not so sure he's as excited as you assumed."

Robert was sitting in a desk, his back rigid. His face was pale like a sheet of paper, and his wide eyes were staring unflinchingly ahead.

"Robert?" Blake asked. "Are you okay?"

Robert did not respond, but simply continued to stare.

"Robert!" Blake yelled, shaking him by the shoulder.

"Wha?" Robert asked dazedly, looking up at Blake.

Blake looked at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"You look sick," added Spencer.

"I _feel _sick," Robert sighed. "I have to duel Andrew. He's gonna kill me."

Blake knelt down in front of his friend, a comforting hand resting on his shoulder. "Look, dude, I'm not gonna lie and tell you it will be easy, but all you have to do is duel with everything you've got and you'll be able to do it!"

Spencer nodded agreement. "All you can do is your best."

"Just trust yourself," advised Blake. "If you trust yourself and your skills and have confidence, then everything will be okay. It will be a tough duel, but you can hold your own against this guy."

Robert absorbed their advice slowly, nodding unsurely. "I . . . I don't know."

"Why don't you go get some water to clear your head?" suggested Spencer.

Robert stood unsteadily. "Yeah. That's . . . a good idea."

They watched him slowly leave the room. Spencer looked at Blake. "Do you really think he can do it?"

Blake sighed and thought for a moment. "Andrew is a tough opponent. He has good cards that are strong alone, but he knows how to put them into devastating combos too. When I dueled him, he made me look like an amateur. Robert's got the skills and the cards, but even with everything in his favor he has a good chance of losing."

Spencer nodded. "That's what I was worried about. I haven't dueled the guy, but it's obvious he's uncompromising and completely set on victory."

"The Life Point change alters things," Blake noted quietly. "I guess we'll see how much."

"Yeah. We'll see."

The two of them stood in silence.

_I believe in Robert, _ Blake thought. _He's a great guy and he's got so much potential, but can I really believe in his victory if I don't even know whether _I _would win against him at this point?_

He watched Robert return and sit in the room's corner. He spread out his cards in front of him and began nervously looking over them like he was cramming for a test he hadn't studied for.

"The kid won't last."

Blake and Spencer jumped and turned to see Andrew standing at them, also watching Robert.

"He's a novice. I'm an expert. There's no way he'll defeat me."

Spencer and Blake narrowed their eyes at him. Blake shook his head. "At this level, you never know what's going to happen. He could surprise you."

Andrew scoffed. "Fat chance." He turned to look into Spencer's eyes. "That kid? He's a speedbump in the road to me. The only reason I'm in this tournament is to duel you, and that's what's going to happen."

Andrew walked away without another word.

"What a creep," Spencer muttered.

Blake grimaced. Andrew was full of malice and cold ambition. He looked across the room back at Robert.

_Robert,_ Blake sighed, _please be careful._

-

Completed March 3, 2007


	12. The Second Match

A/N: Trial of Nightmare's actual name is Trial of Hell, but the American card has been edited because of the younger fanbase.

-

012 - The Second Match

_He watched Robert return and sit in the room's corner. He spread out his cards in front of him and began nervously looking over them like he was cramming for a test he hadn't studied for._

_"The kid won't last."_

_Blake and Spencer jumped and turned to see Andrew standing at them, also watching Robert._

_"He's a novice. I'm an expert. There's no way he'll defeat me."_

_Spencer and Blake narrowed their eyes at him. Blake shook his head. "At this level, you never know what's going to happen. He could surprise you."_

_Andrew scoffed. "Fat chance." He turned to look into Spencer's eyes. "That kid? He's a speedbump in the road to me. The only reason I'm in this tournament is to duel you, and that's what's going to happen."_

_Andrew walked away without another word._

_"What a creep," Spencer muttered._

_Blake grimaced. Andrew was full of malice and cold ambition. He looked across the room back at Robert._

Robert,_ Blake sighed, _please be careful.

-  
Several minutes later, everyone had reconvened in the tournament room.

"Welcome back, everyone," Spencer called. "I know you're all excited about the continuation of this tournament. We have a match coming up that we all hope will be just as intense as the last one. The two players are both newcomers: Transfer student Andrew versus freshmen Robert!"

There was sporadic applause. Blake, who was standing beside Robert, squeezed his shoulder affectionately. "Go get him!"

Andrew stood in his blace already, a look of cold determination on his face. Robert strode to his place across from him, feeling and looking awkward and nervous.

_I know you can do it!_ Blake thought to himself.

"So, without further ado," Spencer announced, "round two will begin!"

ROBERT: 8000LP

ANDREW: 8000LP

Andrew glared at Robert. "You may go first, kid."

"Alright," Robert muttered shakily. "I'll draw five cards, and then my sixth." He slipped the cards off the top of his deck and fanned out the hand in front of him. His hands were visibly shaking.

"Calm down!" Blake called. "You can handle this guy! You'll be okay!"

Robert nodded, focusing on Blake's encouragement. He felt a calming sensation come over him, and he closed his eyes, breathed deep, and prepared to duel.

"Okay," Robert said. "I'll summon Two-Mouth Darkruler!"

A green lizard-like dragon appeared, roaring. It had a long snout with a huge horn on its nose, and on the back of its neck was another sinister mouth. 900/700

"Then I'll lay down three cards and end my turn."

Three face down cards appeared behind Two-Mouth Darkruler.

"That's not a bad opening play," Spencer commented.

"Yeah, I think it was good," Blake nodded. "He's got a monster for field prescence, plus protection with those face down cards."

"Shut your yapping!" Andrew snapped. "Pay attention! It's my turn now!"

He drew his card. "As I lead to your demise, I will place a monster in face-down defense position and end my turn."

"That's it?" Robert asked before he could stop himself.

"Yeah, what kinda play was that?" Blake challenged loudly.

"Shut up doofus," Andrew replied coldly. "Just because you got lucky and won a duel doesn't mean you can start going around and criticizing players who actually have skill."

Blake was dumbstruck. "Ouch."

Meanwhile, Robert had drawn his card. "I'll play another card face down and attack with Darkruler!"

While a card appeared on the field, Two-Mouth Darkruler roared angrily. Bolts of electricity began to dance around its horn and a huge ball of yellow static formed within its second mouth. It launched the electricity across the field.

"Too bad," Andrew muttered. "You've attacked the Mystical Sheep."

A red-fleeced monster with ram horns appeared. 800/1000

"Oh no!" Robert exclaimed. "He's got more defense than my monster's attack!"

"That's right," Andrew said, "and while I'm sure you won't necessarily be reeling from the loss, that 100 Life Point loss is the first in a long line of painful decreases leading to your downfall. This is the beginning of the end."

ROBERT: 7900LP

Blake sneered at Andrew. "That guy's got more hot air in him than a balloon."

"He plays a good game," Spencer observed more sagely. "He's got the cards and the skills, and then he really takes it to his opponents by playing the mental game. He's got Robert so spooked that he's liable to make careless mistakes."

"Come on, Robert!" Blake cheered. "Don't give up."

Robert nodded. "I'm ready. Take your turn."

"Thanks," Andrew replied insincerely. Looking at the card he'd drawn, a malicious grin spread across Andrew's face. "Well well. I suppose it's time to really begin. I have a spell card: Hinotama!"

Robert glared warily at Andrew, who continued in his explaination. "Hinotama is a simple card: It calls down meteors to strike your Life Points for 500."

Robert grimaced as the crackling of fire was heard overhead. He looked up and gasped to see five huge balls of flame burning bright above him. They screamed as they raced toward him, slamming into his vulnerable body with great explosions.

ROBERT: 7400LP

"He used those cards against me," Blake remembered. "Robert had better watch out."

"Now, I'll set another monster face down and end my turn."

Robert nodded and drew. "I will attack your face down monster with Two-Mouth Darkruler!"

"Wrong agian," Andrew laughed. "This time you've attacked Larvas."

A green, levitating, bird-like monster with long arms appeared. 800/1000

Before Robert could do anything, Two-Mouth Darkruler launched another electric attack across the field. Larvas protected itself, its arms crossed in front of its face, sending the ball of energy back at Robert.

ROBERT: 7300LP

"Watch out Robert!" Blake yelled. "That monster was the first monster he played in my duel against him! Don't let him get a leg up like he did in my duel or he'll take the victory away from you before you know what hit you!"

Spencer shot Blake a look. "That's . . . a bit of a doomsday prophecy, isn't it?"

Blake shrugged innocently.

_Spencer has a point,_ Robert thought gloomily. _I know Blake's just looking out for me, but saying things like that is only going to freak me out more._

Grimacing, Robert ended his turn. Andrew drew and cackled gleefully. "You have some bad luck today; I activate my Final Flame!"

Robert cried out as flames burst forth around him, searing away his Life Points.

ROBERT: 6700LP

"To complete my turn, I'll set yet another monster in defense," Andrew finished.

Spencer shook his head ominously. "This is bad. Andrew's got three monsters on the field and Robert's still just sitting there. He's got to do something or Andrew really is going to take this duel."

"I draw," Robert announced shakily. A look at the card changed his look of despair to one of excitement. "I just drew a monster that spells bad news for you: Uraby! So now I summon him in attack mode!"

A brown-scaled dinosaur rose, roaring angrily. 1500/800

"Alright!" Blake called. He nudged Spencer. "This is really good! Uraby's a really strong monster who'll give Robert the firepower he needs to take on Andrew with a vengeance! It's a good sign too: Robert's deck was made by Will, so it's chock full of good combos and powerful monsters. Hopefully this will start a push to victory for him!"

"I hope so," Spencer said. _I know I shouldn't take favorites, being the president and all, but that Andrew's so unnecessarily ruthless. It's hard to like him._

Robert surveyed Andrew's field. _The past few attacks I've made with my Darkruler have really backfired. Even though I'll only be able to destroy one monster this turn, I think it's better safe than sorry to have Uraby attack that face down._

"Uraby! Attack his face down card!"

Uraby growled savagely, leaping forward and stamping decisively down on Andrew's unseen monster. The Dark Gray was seen only for a moment before being obliterated.

"That ends my turn," Robert pronounced.

Andrew snapped up his next card, venom in his eyes. "I play Trial of Nightmare in attack mode!"

A gigantic sword appeared, demonic red eyes glaring from the hilt. Behind it was a simple brown coffin. 1300/900

"Now, an eye for an eye!" Andrew glared. "Trial of Nightmare, attack Two-Mouth Darkruler!"

The coffin floated forward, opening up and sucking in the Two-Mouth Darkruler. The sound of demonic howls could be heard as the sword mobilized, rushing across the field and piercing through the coffin. The sound of Two-Mouth Darkruler's final indignant roar was heard before the coffin and sword floated back to Andrew's field with ominous deliberateness.

ROBERT: 6300LP

"Now I'll draw!" Robert said, "and I'll play Mammoth Graveyard!"

A skeleton of a giant mammoth elephant appeared, its bone tusks gleaming dangerously. 1200/800

"Now, I'm going to give my Uraby a power boost," Robert continued, "by activating the equip spell Raise Body Heat, which gives my dinosaur a boost of 300 attack and defense points!"

Uraby growled in anticipation and blood-lust as its body was surrounded by red aura. 1800/1100

"Now, Mammoth Graveyard, destroy Larvas! Uraby, take out that Trial of Nightmare!"

Mammoth Graveyard let out a gutteral growl, rushing across the field at lightning speed and skewering the helpless Larvas. Uraby roared excitedly, lunging forth and snapping up the Trial of Nightmare with one giant bite.

ANDREW: 7500LP

Andrew growled. "Don't think you're getting anywhere else after that lucky play. It's your last small victory in a long line of defeat."

"Just take your turn," Robert grumbled.

"Gladly," Andrew sneered. "I'll play Dark King of the Abyss!"

A skeletal being with three red eyes appeared, holding its long-nailed fingers toward Robert's monsters. 1200/800

"Now, my Dark King of the Abyss will attack your Mammoth Graveyard!"

"But," Robert stuttered, "that will destroy your monster too!"

"At least you won't be able to use your Mammoth Graveyard against me," Andrew replied cooly.

The skeleton rushed forward, slicing his claws into the skeleton mammoth. Mammoth Graveyard roared indignantly, impaling Dark King on its left tusk. The two monsters burst into bits of data.

"Finally, I switch my Mystical Sheep to defense mode." 800/1000

"That . . . wasn't the best move," Blake observed. "Now Robert has a powered-up Uraby and Andrew's only got a weak defender."

Spencer nodded. "To be fair, Andrew's right: Now Robert won't have access to Mammoth Graveyard. That means he's got to play another monster in order to get in a direct attack."

Robert drew. "I play Dissolverock in attack mode!"

An orange pile of rocks appeared, a vile face upon its head - if one could call it that. 900/1000

"First, Uraby will destroy your Mystical Sheep, and then I'll attack you directly with Dissolverock!" Robert announced. Uraby ran forward and stamped Mystical Sheep into obliteration, while Dissolverock sent a burst of lava spewing from its grotesque mouth to slam into Andrew.

ANDREW: 6400LP

"Awesome!" Blake cheered from the sidelines. "Great job, Robert."

_It's true,_ Andrew growled internally. _I've let him get away with too much._

"I draw," Andrew announced. "Now, I play one monster face-down and end my turn."

_He's not playing much,_ Robert noted. _I think I really may have a chance at victory!_

"I draw," Robert said. "Then I send my Uraby to attack your face-down monster!"

Uraby slammed its tree-trunk leg down onto Andrew's face down monster.

"Too bad," Andrew smirked. "Because you've attacked my Armed Ninja, your Uraby no longer has the use of its Raise Body Heat spell!"

Uraby roared in indignation as its heat aura dissipated. 1500/800

"That's okay," shrugged Robert, "because Dissolverock can attack you directly!"

Andrew growled as he was hit by another burst of lava.

ANDREW: 5300LP

Andrew grimaced as he drew his next card. He sighed happily. "Ah, I needed this! It's time for this spell: Dark Hole!"

There was a deep rumble in the air as the room began to darken.

"What's going on?" Robert cried. "What have you done?"

"Nothing much," Andrew replied nonchalantly. "Just watch!"

A dark rift appeared in the air above the playing field and the duelists and spectators all cried out as air began rushing into it. Robert watched in horror, shielding his eyes, as Uraby and Dissolverock were lifted off the ground and sucked into the hole. Their despairing cries could be heard as the hole closed.

"What happened?" Robert roared.

Andrew laughed darkly. "My spell card sucks every monster on the field into its destructive center with the power of a dark hole! And since my field was devoid of life at the time, I was left unharmed. But now life is about to return to the field with this: Larvas!"  
Another of the long-armed, green-feathered, bird-like hovering monsters appeared on Andrew's field. 800/1000

"Now, Larvas, strike him down!" Andrew laughed.

Larvas's long arms stretched at frightening speed, slashing its talon-like claws across Robert's chest.

ROBERT: 5500LP

"Now that I've evened things up a bit, you may go," Andrew scoffed.

Robert nodded and drew. "I'll summon my Lesser Dragon!"

A brown scaled dragon with green plates of armor on its back appeared, roaring from its arrow-like head. It locked onto Andrew's Larvas with red ruby eyes. 1200/1000

"Lesser Dragon, destroy his Larvas!"  
Lesser Dragon let out a greedy roar, leaping forth and snapping its jaws down on Larvas. It shook the prey back and forth several times before Larvas was destroyed.

ANDREW: 4900LP

"Now you can go," Robert finished.

Andrew snapped up his next card. "Dark King of the Abyss! Arise!" 1200/800

_Again? _ Robert grumbled.

"Attack and destroy the Lesser Dragon!"

"Another cancellation attack," Spencer noted. "Seems like field presence is more important to this guy than to most."

Lesser Dragon clamped its jaws around King of the Abyss's head, who slashed his long nails through Lesser Dragon's chest. The two monsters disappeared.

"Now that the field's clear, we'll see what you've got," Andrew said.

"Right," Robert said, adding another card to his hand. "I'll call out my Dragon Zombie!"

A quadripedal dragon with decaying purple scales appeared with a deep, gutteral growl. 1600/0

"Now, attack him directly!"

The zombie opened its jaws, unleashing a burst of decayed breath across Andrew's field.

ANDREW: 3300LP

"Now, I'll lay one card face down and end my turn."

Andrew drew. "I'll play a monster in face-down defense and end my turn."

Robert took his next card and placed it on the field. "I summon Two-Mouth Darkruler!" 900/700

"Now, Dragon Zombie, attack his defender!"

In another stream of decayed breath, Andrew's monster appeared. It was a boxy, steel, humanoid creature, kneeling with its arms across its face.

"You've attacked my Steel Ogre Grotto!" Andrew smiled. 1400/1800 "That means you take damage to your Life Points!"

ROBERT: 5300LP

Robert grimaced and ended his turn; Andrew drew.

"I play Frenzied Panda!" Andrew declared, slapping the card onto his duel disk. A huge bear with alternatingly light and dark purple fur appeared, swinging a large bamboo stick. 1200/1000

"Now, Panda, destroy his Darkruler!" The bear obediently rumbled forth, slamming its bamboo staff violently into Darkruler's skull.

ROBERT: 5200LP

Robert drew his next card. "Dragon Zombie! Destroy Frenzied Panda!"

Dragon Zombie unleashed another putrid stream, destroying the Panda.

ANDREW: 2900LP

"I end my turn."

_That's no good,_ Blake thought. _Robert's been on a roll this whole game, but now, with his new defender, it looks like Andrew's finally taken a foothold._

Andrew snapped up another card and ended as well.

Robert drew and ended once more.

Andrew looked at his next card disdainfully. "Well, this isn't how I intended this duel to go." _Although, if it continues in a stalemate like this, I'll be able to build an army in my hand and then crush this pipsqueak!_

Robert flipped up the next card. "I activate a spell: Change of Heart!"

"No!" Andrew roared.

Andrew growled as Steel Ogre Grotto disappeared and reappeared on Robert's side.

"Now," Robert continued, "I tribute both of these monsters for this: Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

Both monsters disappeared, replaced by a purple-armored knight atop a purple-furred steed. He hoisted an overly large red javelin menacingly. 2300/2100

"Great!" Blake cried happily. "This duel's totally over! Robert's got a powerful monster and Andrew has nothing!"

_I . . . I can't believe it!_ Andrew thought. _My deck's given me nothing in this duel, and now . . . have I achieved defeat?_

"Gaia!" Robert commanded. "Go! Attack him directly!"

ANDREW: 600LP

Andrew narrowed his eyes at Robert. "Your cards . . . they are rare . . . powerful. My deck has . . . has not been good to me today."

"What?" Robert asked, confused.

Andrew returned his hand to the top of his deck. "I concede."

_What?_ Blake did a double-take.

_You've got to be kidding! _Spencer was shocked.

Robert soaked in the information slowly. "You . . . what?"

Andrew said nothing. He left the room.

Silence.

-

Begun 6:48 March 3, 2007, completed 5:42 March 14, 2007


	13. Earth Versus Light

013 - Earth Versus Light

Blake, Spencer, and Robert were all sitting together in a circle of desks. They were nearing the end of another five minute break before the third duel began.

"I . . . just can't believe it. Not at all. It was . . . like he was just laying down to die." Robert spoke in a hushed tone.

"He was such a dominating force when I dueled him," Blake muttered agreement. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Spencer said, "but did you see him when he walked out? He was . . . so sullen."

"I don't think he's going to take that loss very well," Blake sighed. "He just lost to Robert who is - no offense, Bert - a novice. He's gonna take it hard, but instead of giving him a dose of humility, I think he's just gonna be a bigger jerk."

Spencer nodded pensively. "Yeah. All this time - even signing up for this tournament - he was planning on fighting me. Instead of taking a chill pill from this loss, I think he's gonna blame it on a fluke and really start to come after me even more."

Blake smiled. "At least now we know he's beatable."

Spencer sighed and lurched to his feet. "I'm a little nervous about my duel coming up, but, even so, I guess it's time to keep this thing moving."

"Yeah," Blake agreed, also rising to his feet. Robert obediently and silently followed, quietly enjoying his unexpected victory.

"Alright!" Spencer called, projecting his voice to the room. "It's time to continue today's matches with round three! Up next, we have Adam versus Megan!"

The two duelists stepped forward, taking their places at either end of the arena.

Adam was short and mildly pudgy. He had on brown cargo shorts, green and white Vans, and a black shirt adorned with AC/DC's logo. He had long brown bangs hanging down on his brow, slightly messy, almost concealing his eyes. He had an excited grin on his face.

Megan was a girl with fair blonde hair falling daintily about her shoulders. He was in a light pink shirt and blue jeans displaying her slender frame. She was smiling brightly.

"Ready, Megan?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, I guess!" Megan said with a laugh.

"Well, ladies first," Adam declared.

"Thanks!"

ADAM: 8000LP

MEGAN: 8000LP

Both players drew their hand of five and Megan drew her sixth to begin the duel.

"Okay," Megan began cheerily, "I'll begin by summoning Ancient Elf to the field in attack mode!"

A pale-skinned man appeared, wearing hard purple armor and holding aloft an ornate scepter. 1450/1200

"Now, I'll set two cards for a little protection and end my turn." Two cards appeared behind the Ancient Elf.

"Awesome!" Adam smiled, snapping up his first draw of the duel. "I'm ready to go!" Looking happily at his hand, he selected a card and layed it on the field. "I summon a monster: Battle Ox!"

Roaring, a muscular form appeared. Its body, though over-muscular and humanoid, was covered in brown ox hair, and its head was a roaring, horned beast's. It wore a chestplate of blue and yellow armor and swung an axe through the air. 1700/1000

"Oh! He's so strong!" Megan commented.

"Oh, yeah!" Adam gloated. "And he's coming right at your Ancient Elf!"

Battle Ox let out a triumphant battle cry, rushing across the field with its axe held high.

"I can at least protect my Life Points by activating Waboku!" Megan tapped the corresponding button on her duel disk and the holographic representation of the trap card on the field flipped to reveal a picture of women in teal robes. "It absorbs any damage I would recieve and protects me for the rest of this turn!"

Battle Ox slashed through Ancient Elf's armor, removing it from the game. The horde of teal-robed women, who had appeared between Megan and the battle area, absorbed the shockwave given off by Ancient Elf's destruction.

Adam nodded sternly to Megan. "Good play, but don't expect this duel to be easy for you."

Megan laughed. "I can say the same for you!"

"Well," Adam continued, "I'm going to lay down a face down and end my turn."

"Alright," Megan smiled, "I'll draw." She glanced at her card and slapped it onto her duel disk. "I'll lay down a monster in defense and end my turn."

Adam scrutinized this move as he picked up his next card. "So, protecting yourself. I know you've got some tough defense in your deck, so I've got to pay attention to that."

"Only one way to find out," Megan said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, so I'm going to summon Master and Expert!"

A deep brown furred creature appeared, similar to a lion, with a long mane of golden hair. Atop it was a strange brown-skinned man with a green scarf, controlling the beast's every move. 1200/1000

"Now, I'll lay down a face down card and send Battle Ox on the assault!"

Megan grinned knowingly. "I figured as much, so I layed down my Mystical Elf to defend me!"

The blue-skinned woman with golden hair appeared, chanting her song. 800/2000

"Now you'll feel the hurt of your mistake!" Megan exulted.

Battle Ox continued his charge, the axe high in the air. Mystical Elf, her hands clasped in front of her, began to glow with a golden aura. The axe fell upon her, but the aura grabbed it, releasing shockwaves that sent Battle Ox flying back to Adam's field and that struck Adam himself.

ADAM: 7700LP

"Well," Adam conceded, "I suppose I'll let you go."

"Alright," Megan agreed, adding a new card to her hand. "First, I'm going to activate my spell on the field." She tapped a button on her duel disk. "This is my Last Will spell. With it, when I lose a monster, it leaves something behind: the will to bring another monster out!"

"So if you lose a monster you get to summon a monster, huh?" Adam summised.

"That's correct," Megan nodded. "And it just so happens that Mystical Elf is being tributed to bring out a monster we saw earlier today: Gyakutenno Megami!"

The green haired elven woman from before reappeared. 1800/1600

Megan continued. "Now, as per the spell I just played, I'm able to summon a monster from my deck to my field in face-up attack position, as long as that monster has fewer than 1500 attack points. And so, welcome to the field: Hoshiningen!"

A scroll of paper appeared on the field, and some stylized writing was played across it. It began to glow until it became a brilliant beacon of light, and when it finally resided, a creature had taken its place. A five-pointed star had appeared, with the bottom two points sporting brown boots. From its back, blowing in some holographic wind, were two rainbow streamers. The front of the star had two squinting eyes and a small mouth. 500/700

"_That's_ the monster you intend to play?" Adam scoffed. "You went to all the trouble of using your Last Will spell and _this _is what you bring to face me?"

"Yes," Megan replied confidently. "But you haven't even waited to see what Hoshiningen's special effect is."

"I'm dying to know," Adam replied dryly.

Megan grimaced. "Be sarcastic now, but you're not going to like this."

Hoshinengen lifted into the air and began to glow brilliantly, shedding its light on the entire field. Gyakutenno Megami was washed in the light. 2300/1600 Hoshiningen also felt the effects of its own light. 1000/700

"What?" Adam cried. "How did your monsters become so powerful all of a sudden?"

"Hoshiningen's ability gives every Light attribute monster on the field an attack boost of 500," Megan explained calmly. "So all of my monsters are strengthened by it! Now you see why I called him to the field!"

"Aw, man," Adam growled. "That _is _a tough card! Now your monster's really strong!"

"Exactly," Megan smiled happily. "And since Gyakutenno Megami has been powered up so much, it's the perfect time for her to attack your Battle Ox!"

Gyakutenno Megami leapt forward, spinning round and planting her foot into the Battle Ox's exposed stomach with a deep thud. The Ox cried out in pain before bursting into bits of data.

ADAM: 7100LP

"What a beautiful show, Gyakutenno Megami!" Megan exulted. "Now I end my turn."

Adam snapped the next card off the top of his deck. "Awesome! I drew Pot of Greed, and I'll play it so I can draw two more cards." He added two new cards to his hand. "Next, I'll give my Master and Expert a boost of strength with Invigoration! It raises my monster's attack with the only side effect of lowering its defense. A small price to pay for a strengthened monster."

Master and Expert began to glow with a bright aura, giving it the will to fight even harder. 1600/800

"Now, I send my Master and Expert on the assault to destroy your Hoshiningen!" The beast leapt forward, tearing into the star-like creature with its razor-sharp fangs. The monster was ripped to shreds, as were a small portion of Megan's Life Points.

MEGAN: 7400LP

Gyakutenno Megami cried out indignantly as the power Hoshiningen had given her was drained from her body. 1800/2000

"But that's not all," Adam exclaimed, "because I've got a spell card to clear your field completely: Fissure!"

A chasm in the earth opened beneath Gyakutenno Megami, into which she fell with a despairing cry. "That wasn't nice!" Megan whined.

"I think that's enough punishment for one turn," Adam sighed. "Go ahead."

"Right," Megan nodded, drawing.

Spencer shook his head in awe. "That was a great play on Adam's part. Both of them have been playing flawlessly, and that was a perfect example; he was able to bring Megan's Life Point total down nearly to where his is with just one attack."

"Yeah," Blake nodded. "We have lots of great duelists here, and this duel can go either way."

"I'll set one monster and end my turn," Megan announced. The face down card's hologram appeared before the blonde-haired duelist.

Adam drew his next card and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "I summon the Hitotsu-Me Giant in attack mode!" A muscle-bound humanoid with green-scaled skin appeared on Adam's field, with one cyclopian eye in the middle of its forehead. Its wide, gaping mouth displayed razor-sharp teeth. 1200/1000

"Now, I send my Master and Expert to destroy your face down and my Hitotsu-Me Giant to hit your Life Points!" The two monsters rushed forward. Master and Expert tore Megan's monster to bits, while Hitotsu-Me Giant struck Megan with it's massive holographic fist.

MEGAN: 6200LP

Adam ended and Megan drew. "I play Red Medicine to give my Life Points a 500 point boost!"

MEGAN: 6700LP

"Next, I throw down another monster and end my turn!"

Adam drew. "I send my monsters in another attack!" And again, Megan's monster was destroyed and her Life Points were struck.

MEGAN: 5500LP

"End turn."

Megan drew, again threw down a face down monster, and ended her turn.

Adam drew. "I have another Invigoration spell to increase my Hitotsu-Me Giant like I increased my Master and Expert." Hitotsu-Me Giant glowed with powerful aura. 1600/800

"Now, I attack again!" Adam declared.

MEGAN: 3900LP

Megan drew. "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master to give my Life Points a boost and then I end my turn."

MEGAN: 4900LP

Adam drew another card. "Both of my monsters will now attack you directly!" Hitotsu-Me Giant swung his massive arm to strike Megan while Master and Expert leapt forward to bite away her Life Points.

MEGAN: 1700LP

"If she doesn't get something fast, this duel is over," Spencer growled.

Megan snapped up the top card of her deck, her eyes full of hope, and slapped the card onto her duel disk in defense mode.

Adam drew. "I send my monsters on the attack again! Hitotsu-Me Giant, destroy her face-down monster!"

Hitotsu-Me Giant launched across the field, and a blue-skinned woman appeared to meet him.

"You've attacked my Mystical Elf!" Megan cried happily. "And even though your Giant is a strong attacker, she has a magic defense that will stop your attack and send its power back at you!"

"Alright!" Blake cried. "She found a way to come back!"

Hitotsu-Me Giant's arm swung forward viciously, only to be caught by golden aura. Mystical Elf began to chant, and Hitotsu-Me Giant was sent flying across the field, slamming down unceremonially in front of its owner.

ADAM: 6700LP

Adam begrudgingly ended his turn. Megan drew and set one card face down in her spell and trap zone, ending her turn.

Adam drew. "I play Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts, in attack mode!" A brown furred monster appeared, lion-like but with humanoid arms. It was quadripedal, and sported a horn atop its head before its flowing black mane. 1500/1200

"That will end my turn," Adam finished.

Megan drew and played her card. "I activate the spell card, Red Medicine, to boost my Life Points yet again!"

MEGAN: 2200LP

Adam drew and sighed. "It looks like this is the end of the duel. I have the spell card Shield and Sword!"

"Whoa!" Blake cried. "That's a great play!"

"With this card, all monsters on the field exchange their attack points with their defense points until the end of this turn."

All the monsters on the field had their stats switched. Master and Expert and Hitotsu-Me Giant both switched their identical stats. 800/1600 Gazelle's power swapped slightly. 1200/1500 And Megan's monster suffered an extreme loss. 2000/800

"If your Mystical Elf was in attack mode, this card would really have helped you," Adam said. "But since Mystical Elf is in defense mode, that 2000 attack is useless to you."

"And your Gazelle is strong enough to destroy my defender!" Megan cried desperately.

"That's right," Adam replied, "which is precisely what I will send him to do right now! Gazelle, attack her Mystical Elf!"

Gazelle coiled his powerful haunches, launching across the field with stunning speed. Roaring, he slashed his huge claws across Mystical Elf, skewering her.

"Now I send my Master and Expert and Hitotsu-Me Giant on the offensive!" The two monsters again rushed forward to deliver a harsh blow to Megan.

MEGAN: 600LP

"I end my turn," Adam declared, and all monsters' attack and defense scores reset themselves.

"I draw," Megan pronounced, "and set a monster in defense position! That will be all for my turn."

"I draw, then," Adam announced. "Now I activate Gravedigger Ghoul. With it, I can remove two of the monsters in your graveyard from the game. That way, they're beyond your reach for the remainder of this duel - just in case you were planning a comeback. So I send Gyakutenno Megami and Mystical Elf from the Graveyard and out of existence!"

Megan watched unhappily as the two cards popped out of her graveyard slot. She slid them into an auxillery slot where they could no longer be accessed.

"Now, I send Hitotsu-Me Giant on the attack!"

"You've made the same mistake twice," Megan laughed. "Because you've attacked my Spirit of the Harp, whose stats are identical to Mystical Elf, you're going to lose Life Points again!"

A golden-robed woman strumming a harp appeared. 800/2000 Hitotsu-Me Giant rushed forward, but was sent back by a burst of energy from a strum of the harp strings.

ADAM: 6300LP

Adam grimaced as he ended his turn.

"Draw!" Megan cried. "Now I'll set a monster and end."

Adam growled, "Now I'll summon Monster Egg in attack mode!" An egg appeared on the field, with a hole in its shell revealing red eyes. 600/900

"Now my Hitotsu-Me Giant will attack your face-down!" Hitotsu-Me Giant rushed forward, slamming its massive fists down on Megan's face-down monster.

"That's too bad," Megan smiled, "because the monster you attacked was my Magician of Faith! When she's face down and flipped face up, I get to pull a spell from my graveyard and put it in my hand. And since your Giant's attack flips Magician of Faith face up before destroying her, I'm pulling Dian Keto the Cure Master into my hand."

"Alright, I end my turn," Adam grumbled.

"Draw," Megan declared happily, pleased with her previous move. "Well, I have two spells to activate: The Dian Keto I got with my Magician of Faith's effect, and the Goblin's Secret Remedy I just drew. Combined, these spells will increase my Life Points by 1600!"

MEGAN: 2200LP

"After that wonderful boost, I will end my turn."

Adam nodded and drew. He played the card face down in his last open monster zone. "This duel's almost over, but for now I'll end my turn," Adam sighed.

"Now," Megan said, having drawn her next card, "I'll play Lady of Faith in attack mode!"

A woman in green robes appeared. She was wearing a large, elaborate red headdress, from the bottom of which her soft blue hair could be seen falling round her shoulders. 1100/800

"My Lady of Faith will now strike your Monster Egg!" Megan declared. Lady of Faith chanted a spell, which wafted a soft blue light across the field. The light surrounded Monster Egg, and the creature burst into bits of data.

ADAM: 5800LP

Megan nodded, signalling the end of her turn.

Adam drew. "Well, it's been a long duel, but it's over now. I flip my face down monster face up." A long-nosed bird wielding a scythe appeared. 450/500 "And," Adam continued, "when this Hane-Hane is flipped face up, I can choose one monster on the field to send back to its owner's hand. That monster is your Spirit of the Harp!" Hane-Hane slashed its scythe in a sweeping motion, sending a gust of wind across the field that struck the Spirit of the Harp and made it disappear.

"Next," Adam said, "I tribute Hane-Hane to summon Battle Steer in attack mode!" Hane-Hane disappeared, and in its place was a huge bipedal steer. It had two massive horns atop its head and was sporting a flowing red cape. In its muscular arms it held a pike with three sharp points. 1800/1300

"I send my Battle Steer to slash your Lady of Faith to bits!" With a feral roar, the monster rushed forward to blast Megan's creature to smithereens.

MEGAN: 1500LP

"And that's it," Adam said solemnly. "Any of my monsters would be able to reduce your points to zero, so I send my Gazelle on the attack to end this duel."

"Man, that's devastating," Spencer said.

Gazelle leapt forward, appearing before Megan in a flash. She lowered her head in acceptance and Gazelle's claws flashed.

MEGAN: 0LP

The holographic cards faded as Adam walked toward Megan. He outstretched his hand and they shook.

"Good game," Megan said.

Adam nodded. "Good game to you too."

"Wow, you both gave good performances," Spencer said, clasping both of them warmly on their shoulders. "And now, we'll take a five minute break before the final duel of the day."

The duelists and spectators all broke into small groups for conversation. Blake, Spencer, and Robert were standing together.

"Well, you're up next," Blake commented.

"Yeah," Spencer replied.

"You think you're ready?" Robert asked.

"Yeah," Spencer nodded. "It won't be easy, but I think I'm ready to do it. I'm not ready to give up my title yet, and I'll defend it with everything I have!"

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A/N: When I had Adam activate Shield and sword, it swapped the attack and defense of Hitotsu-Me Giant and Master and Expert, both of whom were equipped with Invigoration and had the stats 1600/800. I swapped them to 800/1600, but actually their original stats (1200/1000) would be swapped and then the effect of Invigoration would take place. The actual stats after Shield and Sword's activation should have been 1400/1000. This was simply a mistake I made and realized much later, and, should Shield and Sword see more play in the future, will hopefully be rectified.

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Begun Thursday evening, March 15, 2007

Completed Sunday, 1:02am, April 1, 2007


End file.
